Where loyalties lie
by CSIflea
Summary: Vance knows something that will threaten Gibbs' life. So what's new? This time he keeps quiet. Will the team be able to save Gibbs? Will Vance be able to forgive himself? What is the Thor project?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Im just a student/teacher with a really active imagination, so i'm just playing with these characters. i only own the bad guys! *evil laugh* i do like Gibbs though...

"No, stop!"

"I'll stop as soon as you tell me what I want to know." The voice was calm, so very calm.

He hears rather than sees the hit, hit again. Another one. A kick this time. He can't take much more of this, not the watcher or the receiver.

"I can't tell you what I don't know. I just don't know. They don't tell me things like this." The watcher tries again, if he tells he commits treason and even though he cares for the person on the floor, he is not prepared to do it. The watcher's heart breaks as he looks at the receiver – there is little to no response and way too much blood.

The voice speaks again and this time there is a hint of annoyance behind the strange accent. "Then his blood" he points to the receiver "is on your hands and the loss of his life on your conscience." The owner of the voice turns around and speaks to another burly man in another language. With all his experience the watcher has never heard this language – it had pronounced r's and a kind of throat clearing sound that appeared quite often and for some reason it sounded like Dutch or German but not quite. His muddled brain doesn't want to think anymore.

The receiver is picked up from the floor and is dragged from the centre to the cage they have been calling home for…how long? Two or three days? He wasn't sure. Next the watcher is untied and also dragged back to the same cage. If he had the strength he would have fought but struggling with the restraints together with no food or water has taken its toll. He is dumped on the floor next to the receiver and the door is locked behind them. Not hiding the evil laughter he has come to hate.

The watcher drags himself over to the receiver who has not made a move or a sound in the last couple of minutes. The watcher turns the receiver over on his back and doesn't miss the hiss of pain suddenly escaping the lips of the man who received the punishment. He takes a piece of his dirty shirt and rips the material apart. He then takes the strip and tries to wipe the blood from the other man's face but with no effect. "I'm going to tell them, everything. I can't watch them do this to you again. The team will never forgive me." The watcher jumps as the receiver suddenly makes a sound.

The single word "no" is spoken softly barely a whisper but it has the effect of a shout. The man speaks again "the team will find us – we just have to trust them." The watcher sighs, he already feels guilty and this is not going to get any easier. "OK, I won't say anything – for now." The other man is once again silent and the confidence and strength in the handsome face is replaced by lines of pain. The hair has changed colour to red almost pink.

"Just hold on Gibbs, please" Vance begs.

A/N: This is my first story and i'm not sure if im on the right track. please read and review. be gentle pls! next chapter will focus on the past and how they ended in this mess. Just so by the way i really dont like Vance. so do you want me to go on? should i try something else?


	2. Chapter 2

As Vance sits there holding Gibbs' battered body on his lap, he thinks back to how different things were only three days ago. It felt like an eternity since he's been brought here but it couldn't have been more than two days. He could still clearly remember arguing with Ducky to go home, an argument he'd lost. "I'm sure this is not what Ducky had in mind when he told me to go home," Vance says to Gibbs and sees a small smile on the terribly beaten face. "No, pretty sure it wasn't," Gibbs spoke in a small, weak voice. The voice had lost all of its strength and confidence and the bass now but a whisper. Vance helped Gibbs to sit up against one of the sides of the small 'holding cell', and couldn't stop the pang of guilt in his gut as he looked at the ex-marine in front of him. Gibbs' one eye was almost swollen shut but the other one was closed as well. His breathing was shallow almost as if it hurt too much. His shirt was ripped and blotches of blood had seeped through the tears. His pants didn't look much better and even without any medical knowledge or experience Vance could see the left leg was broken. His feet were dirty and bare but the ligature marks around the ankles matched the ones on the bloody wrists. One or two of his fingers also seemed either badly sprained or broken and his right arm hung loosely at his side, Vance hoped that it was only a dislocated shoulder but who knew.

After a couple of minutes Vance's mind wondered to the conversation he had with Gibbs in his office before this whole nightmare started. If only he could go back there and change what he did, maybe if he spoke to Gibbs instead of trying to sort it out himself they wouldn't be in this mess. Oh well, too late to sing shoulda, coulda, woulda. Again he thinks of the conversation in his office, funny how things change so quickly. He actually agreed with Gibbs now...

THREE DAYS EARLIER:

Things were a lot simpler. Just a normal day – Vance and Gibbs in his office disagreeing on something. This was turning into a good argument. They were arguing about the most recent case the MCRT worked on. A week ago a petty officer high on one or another drug and some of his friends ended up team tagging and killing a young sergeant and injuring her partner. Her partner (also a sergeant) got hurt so bad that he will never be the same again – his marine career was over. The petty officer and his crew ended up getting killed one by one – military style and very violent.

Gibbs and his team were interviewing the sergeants' team and were leaning towards arresting the lieutenant but Abby came through and matched DNA and finger prints to the Gunny. Gibbs (a Gunny himself) hated arresting the guy especially when it became clear that he killed the people that hurt his team members because he thought it was his duty to protect them and he failed.

Vance and Gibbs' argument was around the fact that Gibbs understood why the Gunny did what he did and Vance couldn't see it. Vance saw the Gunny snapped and he killed the people out of revenge. Gibbs knew that the Gunny did it out of guilt; he tried to fix the problem – to protect his team.

" I would have done the same thing" Vance looked up at Gibbs but kept quiet as Gibbs went on "I still will."

This got a reaction out of Vance. "You're serious?"

"yes, I am." Gibbs turned around to leave.

"You know I can't go running around attacking anyone that threatens a member of my team, Gibbs. Unfortunately I don't have that kind of luxury." Vance looked thoughtful for a minute while Gibbs stared at him in disbelief. "In any ways, your team gets the most threats so I'll be so busy getting revenge for your team I won't have time to go after anybody else."

Gibbs gave a small smirk and reached for the door but not before getting in the final word "Yeah, that's the difference between you and me Leon." And with that he opened the door and left, slamming it closed behind him. Vance couldn't help but laugh at the closed door. He started going through the case file when his phone rang. "Director, there is an urgent phone call for you." Cally's voice comes over as professional as ever. "Thank you, Cally, put them through."

As Vance waited for the caller to get on the phone, names and faces was racing through his mind. He was trying to figure out who was phoning before the voice came on the line. When it did a few minutes later, it was not who he was expecting...

"Hallo, director Vance. I have got a little deal for you, please don't talk just listen and maybe everyone will get out of here alive. If you do not give me what I want I will make sure one of your agents will die the slowest most painful death. Now do I have your undivided attention?"

As Gibbs went down to the squad room, he smiled inwardly at Tony and Ziva who was in the middle of an animated argument and McGee and Abby were looking at something on McGee's computer. Suddenly Gibbs' phone rang.

"Gear up, we got a dead Marine!"

Within seconds they were in the elevator and the doors closed with Abby waving at them. They didn't hear Vance call them back.

Vance decided not to call Gibbs on his cell, "Abby I need your help..."

**A/N and there you have it. Chapter two, hope you are still interested. pls R and R. oh, before i forget - i dont own any of the main characters just the bad guys and maybe the dead guy. all the mistakes are mine too. enjoy and see you next week...**


	3. Chapter 3

##hope you're still with me, thanks for all the wonderful reviews please keep them coming! Well if i owned them i would be famous and in America not a South African teacher. oh yeah, the bad guys, they are definately mine (evil laugh) along with any and all mistakes (shame face)...enjoy!

As Vance was sitting there reminiscing about what he and Abby did (or tried to do) in her lab, Gibbs was trying to keep his mind of the pain that ran through his entire body. His eyes were closed as he sat next to Vance on the floor leaning against one of the bars of their cell. It felt like a battering ram was used against his body and he knew there were some broken bones at least, one of which he was sure is his right shoulder. He sat there suddenly thinking about the case that they were working on that ended up being part of this whole nightmare, little did he know that the Marine whose death he was investigating was in fact the unlucky soul who had to play guinea pig…..

THREE DAYS EARLIER:

On the way to the crime scene, Gibbs was driving his usual way; Tony was actually praying to make it to the crime scene alive. McGee and Ziva was behind them in the truck and judging by the car hooters behind them, McGee was also praying.

Once they arrived at the scene they saw a couple of local LEOs standing around, one looking greener than the other. "If they cannot handle the sight of a dead body, maybe they are not made out for this job." Ziva scoffed as one officer ran for the nearest dumpster.

"cut out, Zee-vah, not made out" Tony corrected with a grin "and not everybody had your Mossad, super ninja, kick-ass training!"

Ziva looked at him with an amused smile, "yet you and McGee do not bring up your lunch at the sight of a dead body."

"It's throw up," McGee pipes up, "and we were trained by Gibbs."

Tony opened his mouth to say something but was silenced with a firm pat on the back of the head, McGee tried to laugh but was silenced with the same firm pat. Ziva was clever enough to keep a straight face.

"if you kids are done, can we start doing our job?" Gibbs said in a flat voice. He silently enjoyed it when his "kids" played like this but he had to keep a tight rein on them. Now, however, it was time to work. Just as he was walking over to the body that was lying next to a dumpster in the alley, Ducky's truck pulled up and Ducky's voice became louder as he ranted to Palmer about getting them lost again.

"oh my" Ducky said as he saw the body, "this poor man. He must have suffered a great deal. Give me a minute with the body Jethro and I will be able to tell you more."

Gibbs turned and walked back to where the rest of team Gibbs was getting the things ready to start processing the scene.

"Ziva, pictures and sketch. McGee, bag and tag. Tony go get a statement from the witness. They apparently found the body while dumping last night's trash."

And with a chorus of "yes, boss." The team got into work mode, ready to prove why they were the best. Satisfied with his team getting their six into gear, Gibbs made his way back to where Ducky was getting acquainted with the body.

"I think this poor man was begging to die."

This statement was made with a sad voice but it still made Gibbs' blood run cold, Ducky didn't make statements like that often so it had to be bad.

"I still need a time of death Duck," Gibbs went down on his hunches next to Ducky and couldn't help the anger rising up as he saw the marine in front of him. The young man was beaten savagely and judging by the way his clothes hung around his body –whoever did this horrible thing took their time doing it.

"I'd put it roughly between 8 and 9 hours ago. But he was beaten long before that. I will give a better idea of what we are dealing with once I get our guest back to Hotel Mallard." With that he straightened up, called Palmer over and with Gibbs' help got the Marine on the gurney and into the truck- ready for the trip back to NCIS.

Almost three hours later, the four weary agents got into the truck and car and drove off – ready to start analysing their evidence they had collected.

What they didn't know was that they were being watched the whole time. The two men in the car had been taking very good notes and were now discussing it with a third person on the phone. They were speaking their native tongue from South Africa, a language not many people have come into contact with and therefore something that worked in their favour.

"there are four of them, meneer."

"_Which do you think will do, Koos?"_

"I think it is a tie between two people – a young, arrogant man. He looks Italian – of so iets. The other is the front runner – a grey haired man. He looked like the leader and a very important ou."

"_nou goed dan," _Meneer answered, _"get back here so we can prepare for the showdown tomorrow. I think the leader will do just fine."_

"Goed so, meneer." Koos answered, he ended the call and looked over to his friend.

"Did you get his name, Jan?"

"Yes, Its Jethro Gibbs and before you ask the search is running."

"Mooi, soon we will meet face to fist…"

***anyone know the language they use? review if you do and even if you don't review anyway! this is me running away, reports needs to be finished.;-)* till next week- cheers.


	4. Chapter 4

**thanks for all the reviews! i love hearing from you as well as your comments! well done to those who guessed it right, the language i use is Afrikaans. similar to Dutch but not quite the same.

****the only thing i own is the bad guys and the mistakes. the rest unfortunately isn't mine. the mistakes are mine too *embarrased face*

Thinking back to the start of this whole mess, Vance almost wanted to say that fate was against them. First the call came in that prevented him from telling Gibbs about the mysterious phone call. And then just as the team came back he got the phone call that made his world stop. Some idiot had rammed his wife's car causing his son to hit his head. Hindsight is a bitch sometimes, he thinks sourly. He looks at Gibbs again, what he sees makes him take a double look. Gibbs looked like death warmed up but that wasn't the problem. The thing was that there was a flush in Gibbs' cheeks and his hands were shaking. His eyes were closed but there was a frown between them that spoke volumes-he was trying to control his pain but the way the sweat was dripping off his brow meant he wasn't very successful. How long had they been here? Three days, maybe four? Or was it longer than that.

"Gibbs?" Vance had to clear his throat and try again. Gibbs showed no sign that he had heard Vance so he moved closer and shook his right shoulder gently. Gibbs hissed in pain and swore loudly.

"I heard ya Leon! No need to kill me for not answering you." Gibbs' voice was a mere whisper and he didn't say the words harshly but Vance felt that familiar pang of guilt in his gut. If only he had done something about those damn phone calls….

TWO DAYS EARLIER

It was a little after two in the morning when Gibbs walked into his house followed by Dinozzo. Gibbs headed for the kitchen to fetch plates for the Chinese that Dinozzo had picked up. Today had been a very hinky day as Abby would call it. The evidence was running and all the work was done that could have been done but given the hour not much more happened. Gibbs had sent everybody home and now he and Dinozzo sat eating in silence. Half an hour later, Tony collapsed on the couch while Gibbs made his way down to the basement to work on some of his projects. Working with the wood helped him think. He lost track of time and he was slightly startled when his phone rang and he glimpsed at the time: 4:30.

"Yeah, Gibbs." He sighed inwardly as he listened to Ducky as he explained the reason for calling.

"Jethro, I will explain more when you get here. Shall I call the team?" Ducky sounded tired but also frustrated.

"No, it's fine Duck, I'll phone them."

After finishing his conversation with Ducky, Gibbs went into the living room and walked past the sleeping Tony. He went up the stairs to take a shower and dress in fresh clothes. Next he went to wake up Tony only to find him already up and in the kitchen making coffee.

"Heya, Boss!"

Gibbs couldn't help but smile at his SFA. "Why are you up so early?"

Tony looked up from his cup, "I heard you walk past me and then the shower came on. I figured something was up so I got ready. We have to go in?"

"Yeah, we can go if you are done."

Tony looked around "yeah, I'm good. Let's go."

Vance got into his office a little after seven in the morning. His son was at home with the mother of all headaches, he was sure. He didn't see any of the team members of Team Gibbs in the bull pen but they were probably around somewhere. He looked at his phone on the desk and saw that he had a message. In a rush the memories of yesterday came rushing back and he felt a sense of dread. How could he forget the phone calls?

With a shaking finger he pressed the button and he heard a familiar voice say "Yeah, Gibbs." Another beat or two of silence and the message beeped. Not long after that the phone rang, he answered seeing as his secretary wasn't in yet, "Vance?" silence and then that voice with the weird accent. "You have until 12 o'clock today, Mr Vance. I told you yesterday that I want the code to Thor and you said no. Now I'm giving you a second chance, Vance. I will phone you again at 12, if not then mister Gibbs will be my guest and I will tell you, it won't be a social visit."

Vance looked at his watch trying to stall for time. Things are different now, this asshole upped the game. "I need to talk to my bosses first; I can't just give you the code to Thor." An evil laugh filled his ear.

"Nice try Mr Vance. Why don't you call your wife and ask her what was in the envelope she got today? Then we can try again. Like I said you have until 12." With that the phone went dead.

As soon as he heard the dead tone, Vance called his wife. "Hi, honey. Did you forget something?" His wife always sounded cheerful in the morning. Today however there was a hint of exhaustion in her voice. Giving the fact that they spent the whole night in the ER with a child with a concussion, it's really not that surprising.

"No, Jackie. I just wanted to know if you received an envelope this morning?"

"Yes, I did. How did you know? I just got it on the porch."

Vance's heart stopped. "Don't open it. I'll be right there." Next he phoned his secretary (who also just arrived) to tell her, he will be out for a while. "If anyone asks, I went to check on my son."

"Yes, sir." With that Vance already had his coat on and his keys in his hands. He ran out the door, out the building and his driver took him home.

Half an hour later (thanks to heavy traffic) he ran up the front stairs, meeting his very worried wife at the door. "Honey, what's wrong?"

"Where's the envelope?"

"Over here. It arrived a couple of minutes after you left. The doorbell rang and when I opened the door, this was lying on the ground." She gives him all the details before he asks for it. He looks at her in surprise. Jackie smiles and answers: "I've been married to you for too long. I know you better than you know yourself." Vance laughs out loud and opens the letter after putting on the gloves he brought from the office.

"Oh, no," Jackie looks in horror at the message in her husband's hands. As he pulls the page further out, a photograph falls to the floor and Vance scoops down to pick it up. On the photo is his MCRT standing in a loose group. Gibbs is pointing to something and it seems like he is talking. Dinozzo is looking at Ziva who is writing something in her notepad. McGee is looking at Gibbs. The photo is average enough but the big red cross over Gibbs' face brings the message across loud and clear. Vance looks up at his wife, sure that the horror in her face is mirrored in his. The page slightly trembling in his hand as it all falls in place. The accident last night wasn't an accident and the idiot wasn't such an idiot now was he? He looked at the message again:

**SEE HOW EASY IT IS TO GET TO THOSE YOU HAVE TO PROTECT**

**HOPE YOUR SON IS FEELING BETTER**

**LET US HOPE YOU'RE AGENT WILL BE**

**AS STRONG AS HIS REPUTATION UPHOLDS**

**IT WILL BE FUN TO HEAR HIM BEG, DON'T YOU THINK?**

**YOU WILL HEAR FROM ME SOON…**

"You have to warn him, Leon. Jethro deserves to know that he is being threatened." His wife was right, he knew it. But he will be damned if he was going to let someone play him like a puppet. Vance closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. It was too early to have a headache but then again, headaches didn't look at time or wait for an invitation did they?

"I will tell him when I know who these people are. I need more information before cause him to panic."

"Jethro doesn't strike me as the type of person to panic easily, Leon. You have to tell him before things get out of hand." Jackie looked like she was about to cry. She didn't really know Leroy Jethro Gibbs but the few times she saw him and the way her husband talks about him tells her he is a strong, stubborn and very hard assed man. Didn't Leon tell her he used to be a marine?

"He isn't. but I don't want to start something that could be avoided. In any way with Ziva and Tony around he is as protected as anywhere else. Gibbs will never back down or go into hiding and that would just make things worse."

Jacky looked at her husband and didn't argue, she knew nothing good will come of it anyway. She sighed and said "You know what you're doing please just be careful." As he nodded she smiled, "do you have time for coffee? James would love to see you?" it was blackmail, she knew it but he needed to relax. Vance nodded and his wife led the way to the kitchen. He didn't tell her that he had a deadline and he didn't tell her that he could stop this whole "game" just by giving up a simple code. Instead he enjoyed being with his wife and smiled as James came into the kitchen in his pyjamas. He picked him up and turned to his wife while she made coffee. At this moment he was enjoying himself not knowing he will be fighting for his life at the same time tomorrow.

As Vance was arriving at the office that morning Gibbs and his team was trying hard not to let their emotions show as Ducky was explaining about their dead marine.

"He was tortured, Jethro, horribly." Ducky seemed actually sad as he looked at the silver haired man in front of him.

"Do you know how long, Duck?"

Ducky looked thoughtful for a minute or two and then answered, "I can't be sure, but with an educated guess I'd say approximately a week, maybe more." There was an audible gasp coming from the group around the autopsy table. Ducky suddenly looked at Ziva.

"Have you ever seen something like this? In your 'travels' in the past."

Ziva had to smile at Ducky's choice of words when he spoke of her past, despite their current situation. But it lasted less than a minute and she was serious again, well aware that everybody was giving her their full attention.

"Similar definitely, but the same: I don't think so. I would say this was violent, calculated even. It would seem that whoever did this did know how to make his message swear."

"Message clear, Ziva." Even Tony looked a little green. But it was McGee that piped up saying "I wonder what that message was." Unknowingly he voiced what everyone was thinking.

"Well, let's find out." Gibbs turned on his heel and left for the elevator, closely followed by his team.

"Well, Private," Ducky spoke to the corpse in front of him, "whoever did this wasn't very kind." He paused, "Gibbs won't be kind to him either. Don't you worry about that."

Ducky had no idea how wrong he was…

The time was 8 in the morning; Meneer Duvenage looked at his watch and smiled. There was no way that Vance will give him that code and he knew it. In fact he was counting on it. In about four and a half hours he will have the man named Gibbs in his possession and early tomorrow morning he will have the man himself.

"Ek wonder, does he know why I want him. I will make him see that loyalty is the most important thing. Especially to your team, Vance." A throat cleared behind him, and he turned his head to look at Koos standing behind him.

"Alles is gereed meneer," Koos looked eager, "we can go when you give the word."

Meneer nodded. "we leave in two hours. We will need some time to sort through the plan of capture but that we can do there."

"Ja, meneer," Koos rubbed his hands together and shared a smile with his boss. Things will heat up pretty soon.

After the visit to Ducky they went to see Abby but other than a weird performance from Abby, they didn't learn anything new. Tony and Ziva left to go talk to Private Sean Buckley's platoon while McGee tried to get a hold of his CO. Gibbs had left for coffee after Abby asked him a couple of weird questions.

"Are you ok?" "Did Vance speak to you?" "Where are you going?" the request she made just before he left got a smile from Gibbs but she took it as a no when he just turned around and left without answering any of her questions. Although the one about Vance did get a frown from him but she didn't give him time to react on that. Instead she just hugged him close and shooed him out the door to go on with whatever she so hurriedly packed away when they had come in.

Gibbs left not knowing what to make of her strange behaviour; he put it out of his mind, left for coffee and started checking his own resources while waiting for the team to come back. He wouldn't get to hear their results that day.

Vance walked back into the office at 11, and went straight to the bull pen but all he found was a very frustrated McGee on his phone. Vance looked around him while he waited for McGee to finish. He looked at all the desks and he could actually see who worked at them even if he didn't know already. The desk next to McGee's was cluttered with paper but the dead giveaway was the Mickey Mouse stapler next to the computer- Tony's. The desk opposite his was neat with an Israeli flag standing next to the computer-Ziva. Next to Ziva and opposite McGee was a desk that was clean to a fault. Not a scrap of paper out of place empty dustbin, well empty except for the coffee cup inside. Gibbs' desk.

"Maybe I should tell him." Vance thought, "No, this will be over soon. I will give them a false code and they will disappear. Then I will find them and bring them to justice." Vance's plan was running through his head and he smiled slightly. His plan was easy enough all he needed to do was wait until 12 and then see how it goes.

"Uhmm, director Vance," McGee asked softly, "was there something I could do for you?"

"I was looking for Gibbs; do you know where he is?"

"Yes, sir, he is downstairs with Ducky. Our marine was tortured and Gibbs is trying to figure out if we are dealing with one guy or a group. Should I call him for you?"

"No, no. Let him do his job. I will see him later." Leaving a confused McGee in his wake, Vance walked up the stairs to his office, ready to start his plan.

He didn't have to wait long, however, the phone call came exactly a minute to 12, but Vance was ready.

"Hello Director Vance." The same voice with the pronounce 'r'.

"I will give the code."

"Good, good. Well what is it?"

"12-15-18-20-09 JKL"

"What do you take me for? A fool? Remember Vance you brought this on yourself and your agent." The phone went dead and Vance sat in dead, shocked silence. What the hell was that? Vance didn't know how long he sat there looking at the phone, but suddenly there was a loud crash outside followed by gunshots, then a screech of tyres and silence for a couple of seconds.

The single shout tore through his heart. The sheer anguish of it alone made him crinch, but worst of all, the realisation that his plan has gone to shit. He wished that he could erase everything but he knew he couldn't, all he could do was try and find his agent before it was too late. That gave him a wakeup call and he ran out of his office.

McGee's voice shouting "GIBBS!" his only motivation as he ran towards the scene outside.

**well? i know its cruel to end the chapter here but it neede to be done:-) pls r&r, it means a lot if you do!


	5. Chapter 5

**Heya, guys! im really sorry for the loooooooong wait! But i hit a writers block and spent a lovely time with my Oupa! well any way i hope this chapter makes up for the wait, thanks for all the reviews and alerts! enjoy...**

**Oh before i forget, i really wish i owned the NCIS characters but i don't unfortunately. the baddies and the mistakes are however mine all mine and you can't take them from me (hahahahaha)**

Tony sat in Abby's lab; he was waiting for a trace to come through. He just couldn't get his mind around the last three days. First Gibbs gets kidnapped and then Vance disappears, what the hell is going on here? Just then Abby runs in looking super excited. Tony didn't feel her excitement; he was tired, hungry and just plain pissed off. This guy, whoever he was, was going to pay.

"Talk Abby," Tony didn't mean to sound so harsh but he wanted to get Gibbs back and find Vance. He had sent Ziva and McGee to see if Vance was at his house because he sure as hell wasn't answering his damn cell phone. Tony looked at Abby.

"The number that Vance brought to me three days ago came back. Someone used it only an hour ago to order pizza." She smiled "and I have an address of both the pizza joint and the storage holding they delivered it to."

Tony grabbed the address and ran out the door meeting Ziva and McGee on the way.

"He wasn't there, his wife said she heard the car stop but no one came to the door and by the time she looked out the window she saw him get into a van. That was yesterday morning. Around the time Ducky had sent him home."

"Why didn't she or his security detail call us?"

"Well, his security left as soon as he was home, and he phoned his wife telling her that he will be back sometime today or maybe tomorrow." Ziva said and her ninja face was showing signs of breaking down. McGee was still looking pale, but he seemed stronger than day before yesterday.

"Abby got us an addy, so let's go and see if we can bring our family home."

"Sweet," muttered McGee, "Let's go," Turning on his heel and moving towards the garage. Ziva and Tony looked at each other and followed the angry McGee.

In the car the three were quiet, each busy with their own thoughts. McGee's thoughts going back to the day that Gibbs was kidnapped- right off the navy yard, right in front him and he couldn't do jack shit to stop them or help Gibbs. If he only did better if only he stopped them- now he will help Gibbs along with Tony and Ziva – that is how loyal they are….

McGee went down to Ducky's autopsy as soon as he was finished running the background checks on everyone their dead sergeant was in contact with or had dealings with the last couple of days before his death. Funny thing is everything checked out except for some phone calls he received on a regular basis three days before he went missing. He didn't tell anyone about these calls.

McGee walked into Autopsy to report to Gibbs. He saw Gibbs talking to Ducky over an autopsy table littered with pictures of the dead sergeant. Just then they heard a loud crash just outside the doors leading out of autopsy. They ran and Gibbs went out the door first. Up to the point of going to investigate and getting to the corner everything was fine- textbook.

But then everything went to hell. Gibbs turned around for no reason just as a big van came around the corner. He heard the gunshot, felt the sting as the bullet made impact with his shoulder and the subsequent step back and then he felt the hard ground as his back made contact.

He looked up and saw Gibbs go down- he didn't hear a gunshot but he was scared, what if Gibbs died? What will they do then?

But then he saw the bastards get out of the van, grab Gibbs by the arms and dragging him roughly into the van. McGee tried to get up but he just couldn't. He shouted Gibbs' name as the van drove away.

Tony and Ziva opened fire as soon as they saw the van hurtling towards them; they knew it wasn't something good in that van. The van turned suddenly and came to a stop on one of the corners close to autopsy. He risked a glance at Ziva and they ran faster. Instinct over riding everything else, why was the building so damn big? They reached the corner just in time to see the van drive away faster than it had come in and just in time to hear McGee scream.

Vance was coming out of the elevator to see Ducky holding gauze to McGee's shoulder.

"I am NOT going Ducky!" McGee was saying. Ducky looked like he was going to argue but apparently decided against it.

"Mr Palmer, would you be so kind to go fetch my bag? It's in my office." Ducky looked up at Vance.

"Gibbs was never one for hospitals and as his team became more like him, I decided to always be prepared." He explained with a smile. He saw something in Vance's eyes that peaked his psychiatrist side but he knew better than to ask or probe now.

Ducky used his scissors to cut off McGee's shirt sleeve, exposing the wound. It was a very large and deep graze rather than a GSW, which was a miracle. Ducky stitched it up and bandaged it. Everybody in the room was quiet, just watching. McGee got up and walked to the door.

"I'm going to Abby. She needs us." That was all he needed to say. Everybody followed without a word. Once they walked into Abby's lab, they heard no music and found her on the floor crying, holding Bert. She knew, without anyone telling her, she knew something had happened to Gibbs.

Abby saw them and flew into Tony's arms. He hugged her for a while and she walked over to Ziva, then to Ducky and Palmer and coming to a stop in front of McGee.

"Are you ok, Timmy?" Concern filling her green eyes as she looked at him. He managed a small smile.

"I'm fine." He looked at her and lifted his eyes to look at the rest of the room. When he spoke his voice was thick from unshed tears, "I'm sorry guys, it was my fault, I should have …."

"Stop." It was a quiet command, but it was lethal, "it was nobody's fault. It happened and now we have to find him." With that Vance walked out of the office leaving team Gibbs behind to pick up their pieces and start working to get their fearless but beloved leader back.

Vance's guilt was hitting him hard. He walked up the stairs past the bull pen refusing to look at the empty desks. As he went past MTAC he stopped and turned around. His eyes swept over the desks of the agents working down on the floor. His eyes stopped on one particular desk and he could have sworn he saw a silver head turn and look up at him with intense ice blue eyes. But as soon as it appeared it also disappeared. Leaving Vance feeling guiltier than ever, he went to his office. Closing the door and giving in to his emotions. "What have I done?"

Gibbs knew that something was coming even before he heard the footsteps coming towards the cell. He shared a fleeting glance with Vance; he didn't want Vance to know that he was scared. His heart was racing; his palms getting sweaty, he was really scared. "Were are you, guys?" He thought as Vance was dragged out but not before at least trying to fight but he was obviously no match for these guys. Next they came for Gibbs and they were not too gentle. He coloured the air with some curses that would get him a hiding from his dad even at his age all the while they dragged him towards where they had Vance already tied up in a chair. He was dropped and they walked away leaving them just like that. "Now would be a good time for them to come Gibbs" Vance spoke softly.

Gibbs didn't know where the team was; in fact he only heard from Vance that McGee was alive all he remembered was the gunshot and McGee going down. "Where are you guys?" he thought back to that day when his nightmare started.

Gibbs and Ducky was busy discussing the evidence of the torture the poor man had received. There were photos on an autopsy table between them. He already spoke to Ducky about the feeling in his gut the feeling that something was wrong he just couldn't put his finger on what. McGee came in and opened his mouth but suddenly there was a loud crash outside. He headed out the exit behind autopsy followed closely by McGee; he just hoped that Tony and Ziva were close.

He should have known when he saw no one outside- no security- he should have known something isn't right. So he walked cautiously towards the corner of the building, the van stopping in front of him surprising him but he didn't hesitate. On instinct he started shooting but whoever was in the van was slightly faster. He heard the shot and turned around to see where McGee was – something he has never done. He was breaking his own rules here. Gibbs saw McGee go down and at that same time he felt something on his shoulder. His last conscious thought was that his team will be fine, whatever happens, they will find him but please let them be fine.

When Gibbs opened his eyes he was confused for a second. The room was dimly lit and he knew he was tied down as he tried to lift his hands but he couldn't. Next he heard footsteps coming into the room.

"Welcome to my playpen, Mr Gibbs." The man in front of him spoke in an unfamiliar accent. Kind of pronouncing his 'rs.

"Where the hell am i?"

"Oh, I only have you for fun and entertainment. The real person I want is your director, or rather something from him." Gibbs couldn't believe his ears.

"You won't get it this way or any other way. In case you don't know we don't deal with terrorists."

This statement earned him a good slap in the face which left him stunned. This guy really packed a punch and a half. "I will get it, don't you worry. Loyalty is a funny thing, Gibbs. It only depends on where it lies."

After a nod from the main guerrilla, the rest of the monkeys followed. Except two. The next fifteen minutes was pure hell, with his hands tied to the damn chair, he had absolutely no defence. They beat Gibbs until l he saw nothing but stars. After the stars came nothing but darkness.

The next time Gibbs came to, everything hurt like a bitch. But he was not in the same room; he was in the back of a van lying on the floor. Hands behind his back. He vaguely wondered if it's the same van that was in the Navy Yard, he didn't have to wait for long. The big guerrilla climbed into the van,

"Ah, Mister Gibbs, you are awake. It took you long enough."

"Who are you and what the fuck do you want?"

"Now now Mister Gibbs," the man smiled "I told you I want your director. Who I am is not important. Your director has something I want, and I intend to get it even if it means killing you."

"What is it you want?"

"Didn't you ask me that already, but I will humour you. It is something you cannot help me with."

The man stepped out of the van and two other monkeys stepped in they moved towards Gibbs. He waited till they were just close enough. It hurt like hell but he pulled his legs back and kicked the one in his stomach, he quickly hit the other guy that was closer to his face with his head. Both were surprised at the attack but it wore of quickly.

"Jou klein kak!"

"Eina, bliksem!"

Gibbs didn't understand the words but the dangerous look in their eyes spoke volumes and he knew that he was going to pay. The next moment the first monkey grabbed his lower leg and held it steady as the other monkey slammed his foot full force into Gibbs' leg breaking the bone. Gibbs screamed like never before in his life. He heard their laughter through the red haze of pain. The first monkey grabbed his hair and pulled his head up. The other monkey put a rope round his neck. They pulled the rope tight enough so that he would be able to breath. The other end of the rope went through a hook in the ceiling of the van. The bastards tied it tightly Gibbs couldn't move without strangling himself. The main ass got back into the van and slapped Gibbs hard across his face.

"You really shouldn't resist, Mister Gibbs. I don't want to hurt you more than what I have to." He turned to leave, "you will stay here until we leave to go get Vance. You have done nothing to deserve to be comfortable." With that he left and Gibbs felt consciousness leave him.

Meneer Duvenage was angry, the idiots should have been careful. Gibbs was a man to be reckoned with and he had warned them.

"Stefan, Tiekie come here!" those two idiots needed to be punished. "Go clean out the big room, we are going to need it when the other moer comes tonight. Then make sure the cell is secure, I do not want any of the two to get away." With that the two left to go carry out the duties he gave them. He took out his phone and took a picture of the lax form of Leroy Jethro Gibbs and sent it to Vance. Smiling he thought of how he was going to catch Vance tonight, he had the perfect plan and the perfect bait. What could go wrong?

**So what do you think? i will try to update quicker this time. pls pls let me know what you think, i love all your reviews and comments. if you are interested you can go check out my CSY new york story called 'Newton's 3rd law'. till next time , CSIflea.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Heya, guys! first i want to apologize for taking soooooo long with this chapter but RL played some nasty tricks on me. i wanted to post it last week but my birthday got in the way of that. secondly, this chapter is written in 3 parts. the first two show the same day but from two different POV's. i know Tony is a bit OOC in this chapter but i always like it when McGee takes charge.**

**Lastly i don't own them, i just take them out, play with them, hurt them, heal them and then send them back hehehehe, anyway, enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think! till next time.**

PART 1

For how long they were in the same positions, Vance will never know. The scene in front of him was heart breaking. The bastards had just dropped Gibbs on the floor and he fell on his injured side with his full weight. At first there wasn't any sign of Gibbs moving but then his harsh breaths brought the realisation home, they might not make it out of here.

"Don't" Again, that voice was so soft it was barely above a whisper, but the command behind it was unmistakable.

"What?" Vance tried to play innocent, partly to get Gibbs talking and partly to get his own mind of the dire circumstances they found themselves in.

"Don't…hold…..yourself….stupid." Gibbs paused gasping for breath, but continued "team….will…..find….us." this drained the last of Gibbs' reserves and he slumped in on himself. Vance looked over at the sorry sight in front of him. This man that can make the biggest man shiver in his pants was reduced to nothing more than a crumpled heap on a dirty floor God knows where. For the millionth time guilt riled up inside Vance, What had he done? If only he said something or did something. He had seriously underestimated this bastard and now Gibbs was suffering. His friend- yes he thought of Gibbs as a friend more than once. This man was a good man, strong, proud, intelligent and kind under that tough exterior. He was fiercely loyal and the best man to have at your six.

"I see your friend is still alive." Vance cringed at the sound of that voice, that accent making the words sound harsh.

"Yes, he is. Now tell me what the fuck you want from us or let us go!"

"Now now Mr Vance. No need to be nasty." He barked a laugh "ok, I will tell you. But first I want to make sure your little friend over here is awake for the show. He will hear every word of my tale. How you will betray someone without a moment's thought how quickly your loyalties shift to how it pleases you." The bastard looked down at Gibbs and gave an evil grin while beckoning for his little bastards to join him. "But also he will listen as you give me the code to access Thor."

Vance looked at him blankly, "are you insane? I already told you that I can't give you the code to Thor. Its treason and I am not prepared to commit it yet. My loyalties will always be my country and my colleagues; I have no idea what you are talking about otherwise. I don't betray my people."

"LIAR!" the man spat the word in Vance's face and motioned for the men to pick Gibbs up. His hands were tied and linked to a chain hanging from the roof. He hissed in pain and cursed but he quickly fell back into the void of unconsciousness. Vance struggled to get free to help Gibbs; they were going to kill him.

"Let him down! You bastard, can't you see you're hurting him!"

"AH, but Mr Vance that is my goal. To cause this man as much agony as I can in order to persuade you to tell me what I want to know." He laughed and picked up a bucket. He took a firm grip and through the water over Gibbs, causing him to jerk awake and immediately started to shiver. Only then did Vance realise that the water was full of ice. The warehouse wasn't hot to begin with, the cold weather outside making the warehouse cold as well. This was not good.

"Now that you have joined us Mr Gibbs, I will start my story. In order for you to remember Vance I will take you back to the year 1999. You were working on the beginning stages of Thor. Doing research for NCIS in order to get the programme of the ground. My Son was part of your so called research team, you traded his life for yours when you ran out, leaving him to die at the hands of a damn lunatic." With that he pushed a photo in front of Vance, the photo showing a young man with an eerily familiar face. His blood ran cold, he remembered the boy. He died on his very first mission, collecting intel for the Thor project.

"Bertus? He was your son?"

"Ah so you do remember? Do you?" The man turned around facing Vance again and slapped him through his face leaving Vance reeling. "Bliksem!"

Before Vance could react there was a massive crash outside causing everyone in the room to jump in surprise.

"Go check it out!" The guy got seriously pissed off when the men just stood there staring at each other, "gaan kyk! Nou damnit!" the shouting in their own tongue did the trick and the four men raced out- drawing their guns.

"I don't think that we will have time to finish this discussion Mr Vance." The man took his gun out and looked at Vance with an evil smirk on his face. He turned around and without so much as a breath or a hesitation, shot Gibbs in his stomach and left calling something over the radio. It wsn't long before the rest of the monkeys followed, leaving Gibbs tied up and bleeding like a sieve and Vance sitting shell schocked on the chair bound tight. Then out of the blue he heard a voice, at first he didn't recognize it but then as the owner of the voice came closer, recognition flared like a flame. But his body was so weak, his vision dimming, shock taking over. With the last of his strength he lifted his head and looked at Gibbs. Realisation hit Vance as he looked at Gibbs. He was dead, there was no way that he could survive. Leroy Jethro Gibbs was no more. His best agent died right here in front of him and it was all his fault.

PART 2

When McGee parked the car at the address Abby gave them, they filed out of the car and gathered around the now open trunk.

"Ok, McFast, what are we gonna do?" Tony asked while he handed a vest to Ziva and put one on himself. He waited for McGee to finish putting his on and for him to answer.

"Why are you asking me? Aren't you the SFA?" McGee's voice was hard and it was clear that he wasn't in a good mood.

'Ah, still blaming ourself are we?' Tony thought but out loud he said: "I thought you had an idea seeing as I was kinda busy praying on our way here, so I didn't have time to think of a plan."

"Well, let's check it out and see what we can learn from the perimeter and then we take it from there."

So they moved out from there, each of them choosing a side and moving slowly and silently.

McGee peered through the first window he came across but didn't see anything. He moved to the next opening. Tony found a crack in the wall which might have been a door or access point he looked through it but only saw something that looked like a very large cage. He couldn't see anything behind it so he tried to make the opening bigger so he can get through but the sides wouldn't budge. He kept moving forward towards the end of the building.

Ziva found a ladder not long into her inspection. It led to a balcony which was about halfway up towards the roof of the warehouse. She climbed the ladder silently and walked stealthly towards a window. What she saw made her heart stop. She bit her closed fist not to scream or fling herself down into the building knowing it could make things much much worse.

Gibbs was being strung up with his hands above his head like a slab of beef while Vance was sitting tied to a chair. The guy in front of Vance was talking and suddenly he threw a bucket of water over Gibbs. Ziva had to use all her previous training to control her emotions, to get her anger to the point where she can think clearly. She took her eyes of the scene and started running as fast and silently as she could to catch up with the guys, they had to go in now.

When she reached the car McGee and Tony was waiting for her. Seeing the expression on her face, they immediately grabbed their guns and started looking around for the danger.

"We have to go in, I saw them they are in there." She was out of breath but the boys caught on quick. Tony grabbed his radio and called for backup while McGee took out his phone and called Ducky and Abby. Ziva dailed 911 for a bus- Gibbs was going to need it.

"We need a diversion"

"Any ideas?"

"Yeah, I do." With that McGee got into the car and rammed it into one of the boxes that was standing next to the warehouse. It caused a massive crash which ended up with a loud bang.

McGee got out and ran to where Ziva and Tony was getting into firing positions. After a couple of minutes four guys came out and the fire fight started, the weird thing was that after only about fivw or ten minutes the shooting stopped and the four guys retreated. McGee nicked one on the shoulder but they kept running. Ziva thought she got one too, but wasn't too sure. The three agents ran into the warehouse and found the two men just as the welcome sound of sirens announcing the backup and ambulances.

"Vance?"

"Gibbs?"

Ziva went straight to Vance who didn't acknowledge her – he was just staring at Gibbs. His eyes suddenly closed and he slumped forward. Ziva shared a quick look with Tony and McGee. While Ziva busied herself untying Vance the boys tried to get Gibbs down. Just then the paramedics burst through the doors and only after a minute's hesitation went straight for Gibbs and pushed the guys out of the way to get a better look. Another minute passed before one went for his radio calling for a med evac. Another team came in and rushed to Vance. The three agents stood there perplexed, they were completely lost. It wasn't that they didn't know what to do it was the fact that the crime scene they have to investigate was the warehose where their boss was held and right now their boss didn't look so good. Their leader was fighting for his life and the worst of all is they didn't even know why. Ducky and Abby rushed into the warehouse followed by SECNAV. Abby screeched and turned her face into Ducky's shoulder who had stopped dead in his tracks. SECNAV came to a halt and closed his eyes. This couldn't be happening.

Gibbs was loaded onto a backboard and strapped in then with the help of Tony and McGee lifted onto a stretcher and rushed outside to the waiting chopper. Ducky followed claiming to be Gibbs personal docter, which isn't really far off. Abby grabbed the chance to go with Vance stating that he shouldn't be alone. SECNAV left as soon as the ambulance and chopper took off, saying that he needs to call Vance's wife and then go back to the office to see if there is anything he can do there.

In a matter of half an hour the three agents stood in the middle of the warehouse each with their field kits ready to start processing. Their minds however was with the two people that was so close to their heart and three sets of prayers went up to the heavens above. Ech asking protection and courage but only one asked for forgiveness.

"Ok, guys let's get started and catch these rat face bastards!"

PART 3

Ducky arrived at the hospital and let the doctor take over- it wasn't right to work on your friend. He had been with Gibbs for a long time, he had come to love the stubborn ass like a son. He had seen him shot, stabbed, beaten up even blown up and somehow through it all Gibbs had bounced back – healthy as a horse everytime. This time, however Ducky wasn't so sure he would return. He really hoped to get the people responsible on his autopsy table. And even though he would never really harm another human being, if he were to find these peole (if you could call them that) he would want to make them suffer as they had made Gibbs suffer.

"Ducky?"

"Abby, my dear. How is our director?" He was stalling, he knew that Abby saw Gibbs like a father. This was going to be the hardest on her.

"They say he will be fine, just severly dehydrated and traumatized."

"Good." He avoided looking at her, instead looked towards the doors behind which Gibbs had disappeared. Was that the last time he would see his friend alive?

"Ducky? How is Gibbs?" the question was asked softly but Ducky didn't miss the tremble of the voice or the unshed tears in the eyes. He pulled her close to him and sat down in the uncomfortable waiting room chairs.

"I don't know, Abigail, I just don't know."


	7. Chapter 7

**Heya, guys! This chapter gave me so many headaches, but if i can blame someone, i would like to blame my muse who got lost and couldn't find her way back through real life. i'm moving out into an apartment so things are a little more than chaotic at the moment. your reviews makes me want to go on so thank you guys, all the reviewers, alerts and favs. you rock. thanks also to my mommie who plays my beta (i think her ears rings after every chapter).**

**none of the recognizable characters are mine, just the baddies and mistakes. just one request: pls don't kill me for the end... **

Tony looked up from the camera just after he took a picture of the pool of blood on the floor, trying hard not to think of whose blood it is, he had this feeling of sadness as he thought of what went down in this horrible place. If only walls could talk. As he looked towards Ziva and McGee he could see on their faces that they feel the same. The three agents caught each other's eyes and went on with their work; it's what their boss would want them to do. They collected evidence and bagged and tagged, made sketches and took pictures.

Ziva went outside to investigate hoping that she would find some clues as to where the bastard went after they got to the warehouse. She didn't find any evidence, however she found something better. One of the idiots got caught in the fire fight and collapsed, his friends left him to die. Fortunately for the team, he was still alive albeit barely. So for the second time that day, Ziva dialled 911 and gave the same address as earlier.

"You better survive, or I will come and get you in the afterlife" she told the unconscious man and called him a few colourful names in Hebrew.

"What you got, Ziva?" Tony suddenly asked behind her. She looks up at him and for just a second he saw a look in her eyes and he took a step back. He hasn't seen that look since the first time he met her all those years ago when she was still a full blown killer.

"One of the bastards got left behind. I guess his employee didn't think he would make it."

"I bet his boss just wanted to get out of here and not get caught." Tony gave Ziva a look, "Zee-vah, I know that you would like to use him for target practise but we do need the man alive." It took all he had to keep a straight face, but as she looked up from the man in front of her she had a smile on her face.

"He would not be a worthy opponent. He is too scrunchy."

"Scrawny, Ziva."

Suddenly the man woke up and started yelling in a very strange language.

"Los my uit!" he started thrashing causing Tony to drop to his knees next to Ziva to keep the man from hurting himself.

"Wie is julle? Los my uit, laat my gaan!"

"We don't understand you, you idiot!" Tony says through gritted teeth. The man actually looked scared for the first time. "You won't get me to tell you anything." He said in English but he still had a weird accent.

"Oh yeah, watch me." But before Tony could do anything the ambulance arrived and a very confused McGee came out of the warehouse. His eyes widened as he saw the thrashing man.

"Who is that?"

"One of the kidnappers, look I want you to go with him to the hospital. I need to have someone there I can trust and also someone who won't let this ass get away." Tony looked McGee straight in the eyes, not leaving room for argument. "Then you can also check to see if there is any news on Vance or Gibbs." If McGee noticed Tony swallowing at the mention of his boss' name he didn't mention it, McGee watched as they loaded the injured man onto the stretcher and followed them into the ambulance. "We had to sedate him in order to treat him," the paramedic informs him, obviously mistaking him for a friend.

"I don't really care." The medic looks up at McGee and cocks an eyebrow, "He almost killed someone I care about. So I couldn't give a rat's ass what happens to him." McGee meets the medic's eye without flinching.

"Well, I am sorry to hear that unfortunately I don't get to choose who I help." He says in a kind of snotty manner. But McGee really couldn't care less.

"Gibbs didn't choose this either, they chose him and then they hurt him and now he is fighting for his life. So excuse me for not caring about this bastard."

"Wait, who did he hurt?" the medic suddenly looked up. "The person you care out about? Who is this Gibbs you mentioned?" this took McGee by surprise. He saw a look of horror flashing in the medic's eye

"Yeah, Leroy Jethro Gibbs. This piece of shit was part of a group that almost killed him when they kidnapped him a few days ago."

"Damn, sorry man that….that's harsh." The medic looked lightly shaken. "Damn," he said again.

"You know him?" McGee was finding this behaviour not only weird but also intriguing.

"Yeah, um, I think he is my Godfather."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Abby was leaning into Ducky's arm when they saw a doctor walk towards them. He smiled as he saw Ducky and shook his hand,

"Dr Mallard. Good to see you, not the best of circumstances mind you."

"Dr Jones. Likewise, and no, it isn't but it always helps to see a friendly face." Ducky pulls Abby closer to him as the doctor looks at her questioningly.

"Little too young for you, Dr Mallard?" Jones said with a wink getting a small smile from Ducky and a frown from Abby, "anyhow, I guess you want to hear about your director?" as they both nodded he continued "we did call his wife and she is on the way. I think it would be a good idea to have a familiar face around when she gets here." He waited and Ducky nodded, "OK, then that's settled. He is severely dehydrated and he's got some bruises all over his body that will be painful for a while but all in all he will be fine. We sedated him to help his body get the rest it needs. According to the medics that brought him in he was in a state of shock." He smiled at the two in front of him, "I have to go check on my other patients. The staff will page me when Mrs Vance gets here." He said and turned to leave.

"Wait, Dr Jones." The man looked over his shoulder at Ducky, "Do you know anything about Jethro?"

Dr Jones frowned, "The other man that came in with Director Vance?" As Ducky nodded he continued, "All I know is that he is in surgery to repair some of the damage. I'm not his doctor so I can't give you any details. I will find out for you and send a nurse out."

"That will be great, thank you doctor." Dr Jones nodded and left.

Abby and Ducky sat down again on the chairs. A nurse had come out a couple of minutes ago telling them that Gibbs was still in surgery and things were going OK considering his injuries. The surgery was still a long way from completed. About an hour later they heard the sounds of heels clicking on the hospital floor. Ducky looked up to see Vance's wife coming towards them with a worried look on her face.

"Dr Mallard."

"Mrs Vance, please call me Ducky." He led her to a chair and flagged down a nurse as she sat down,

"My dear, please be so kind as to go and call Dr Jones, thank you." Ducky turned back to Jacky, "let's just wait for the doctor to get here."

"How did this happen? He phoned me and told me he was fine. I don't understand, Ducky what happened?"

"Shh, Mrs Vance its ok, he was forced to call you. As far as I know the guy has a grudge against the Director. He had Gibbs, we don't know what happened after Leon went home, we didn't know anything was wrong either." Ducky looked down and swallowed. When he looked back up he had tears in his eyes.

"Mrs Vance," he began but was cut off by Jackie.

"If I have to call you Ducky please call me Jackie, it's only fair."

"Very well, then. Jackie, I have to apologize." She looked at Ducky with surprise, Abby's head snapped up, and "if I hadn't insisted on him going home, then Leon wouldn't have been taken."

Abby put her hand on his shoulder and Jackie took his chin and turned his head up so he could look her in the eyes.

"Ducky, your loyalty is first and foremost to the health of the people you work with and NOT the dead you meet in your morgue. You did the right thing. It was not your fault, you hear me?"

Ducky nodded, not trusting his voice. He was saved when the doctor walked up to them and spoke to Jackie.

"Can I see him?" she asked after he had told her everything.

"Yes, of course. He is in room 633." He smiled and walked away leaving the three people alone again.

"I'm going to see Leon." She started walking away but stopped a few steps away. She turned around looking worried again. "Did you hear anything about Jethro?"

"He was still in surgery, an hour ago. It's all we know." Abby started crying again and Ducky pulled her in for a hug. His eyes telling Jackie that Gibbs didn't look good. She nodded and once again took off for her husband's room, sending a prayer up for the man who was loved and admired by so many loyal people.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

As the two people sit in the waiting room trying to find comfort with each other, doctors and nurses try to save the one that holds their thoughts. It's a battle, one they are not sure they will win. The man took a terrible beating, broken bones, internal injuries and bleeding, concussion and, worst of all, a gunshot to the abdomen that did terrible damage. But they will fight for him as long as he fights with them.

"Suction."

"Found the bleeder."

"Scalpel"

Sounds and voices fill the theatre were controlled chaos reigns. From an outsiders point of view nothing that happens down there makes sense but the doctors and nurses know what to do and how to do it. The sound that no one wanted to hear suddenly erupts and slices through the room.

A high pitch noise signalling a heart that stopped.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

**not gonna say anything, i'll just keep running away...pls r&r. till next time, lotsa love and happy reading-CSIflea**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys. i'm back and this time around my muse was evil. just to let you know that Newton's 3rd law was updated last night. the reason why i took so long to update was that my muse went on strike, but she came back with a vengence.**

**i dont own anything recognizable just the evil guys (they are from my planet called fleasia). sorry for the short chapter but i though that this would keep you guessing. **

Tony sat behind his desk with his head in his hands; he couldn't bring himself to go to the hospital. Suddenly a cold feeling washed over him.

"Charge 270, clear"

Ziva was getting out of the passenger side of the car as it stopped outside the hospital, McGee got out the driver's side and the two agents locked eyes. Both shivered as a cold shiver ran down their spines.

Nothing, again. Charge 270 clear!"

Abby jerked awake and caught Ducky looking at her with a strange expression on his face, "Do you feel that?"

"Last time, 270 clear!"

Jacky walked up to her sleeping husband and took his hand; he was frowning in his sleep. She jumped as Vance's eyes flew open and he sat up in bed. The scream that came out of his mouth made her heart freeze,

"GIBBS! NO!"

NCIS

It's hard to say goodbye to someone if you have to leave them behind. However the goodbye that comes when a loved one dies is far more devastating. Funny thing is that people say goodbye on a regular basis, so much so that a person should be used to it, but it still kicks your feet from underneath you. Tony sat looking at the phone wondering if he was the right person to make this phone call. After all, shouldn't it be Vance? He is the director. But he is the SFA, surely it is his duty.

He picks up the phone only to put it down again several times. He looks at his cell and contemplates calling his friends; they need him as much as he needs them now. Once again he picks up his phone and makes the call he wanted never to make in his entire life. He dials the number with shaking fingers, he hears the ringing and with every beat of his heart he prays that the person doesn't pick up. His heart skips a beat and sinks at the same time as he hears the happy voice answers.

"Hallo?"

He can't take it, they sound too much the same, and he feels a hand on his shoulder and sees Vance's secretary stand behind him with red rimmed eyes. This cannot be happening!

"Hallo, anyone there?" again that voice, Tony takes a deep breath.

"Yeah, Jack. It's Tony Dinozzo." Silence, the tension is obvious in the older Gibbs' voice, he knows Tony thinks.

"Tony? Did something happen to Leroy?"

Yeah, Jack. That's why I'm calling, uhm…."

NCIS

Ziva and McGee walked into the waiting room and the air got sucked out of the room as they spotted Ducky holding Abby. Both have tears streaming down their faces. Ziva's breathe catches in her throat as she takes in the scene in front of her. McGee puts his arms around her shoulder and she starts crying on his shoulder for a minute before lifting her face to look into his eyes.

"He gave me a chance." She says softly, McGee nods. He knows what she's talking about.

"I know, Z, I know." He rubs small circles on her back.

"He knows about my background but still he trusted me. Even though my brother killed someone he cared about." Her voice was slightly muffled because her face was pressed into his chest. "He turned out to be the father I always needed and wanted but was too scared to hope for. He gave me the lessons that my own father never gave me." Her voice broke and McGee led her to a chair against the wall. They sat down awkwardly, Ziva still crying against his chest, but he held on. He had to tell his sister that he was there for her and she needed her brother now more than ever.

"Oh McGee what are we going to do?"

"We are going to catch the bastards and we are going to make them pay. Just like he taught us." He felt her head move in an attempt to agree. She lifted her head and he saw a frown forming.

"What?"

"You are too understanding. Why?"

"Because, Ziva, like you Gibbs was everything I always wanted but was too scared to ask for."

She nodded her understanding again and got up. "I will go and clean up. Will you wait for me?"

"Of Course, I want to go to the bathroom as well. I will meet you back here before we go in there." He motioned to the waiting room where Ducky and Abby was still desperately clinging to each other.

NCIS

Vance was lying down again but staring at the ceiling, not looking at his wife. She was sitting next to his bed holding his hand. She couldn't help but wince as she saw the bruises on his wrists and all over his face. His face was pale and his lips cracked. His hands were cold on her warm fingers and the IV attached to his arm giving him fluids made her cringe. She knew that he felt guilty and especially now he will have to come to terms with the choice he made.

"Leon?" She tried for the third time in ten minutes. This time he turned his head to her and her heart stopped briefly. His eyes were flat and his there was tears threatening to spill over. At first it seemed like he didn't recognize her but after he blinked a couple of times she could see he knew who she was.

"Jacky?" his voice was soft as if he had been screaming for a long time.

"Yes, Honey. I'm here." She leaned in closer so their faces were almost touching. The tears spilled out of his eyes like rain and it streamed down his face. Jacky tried to wipe them away but ended up crying with her husband. His pain was after all her pain.

"I should have listened to you. I should have told him." He sobbed,

"Shh, it's going to be all right." She touched his face and ran her fingers through his hair

"No it won't. Things will never be the same." He closed his eyes as exhaustion took him to a place where dreams would be the only thing around him.

Jacky stood up and walked towards the waiting room, where there were people who were not as lucky as she was with her husband. At least she had peace of mind that he was still with her and that he was alive.

She walked into the waiting room and a heart breaking scene. Ducky and Abby was holding each other crying. Ziva and McGee were sitting next to each other staring at the floor. They looked up as she walked in.

"Is he….? Did the doctors say ….?" She couldn't stop the teats as they spilled out of her eyes but she couldn't finish her sentence either. Four sets of eyes met hers but it was Ducky that answered.

"No, we're still waiting."

Just then a middle aged doctor came in, "Family of Leroy Gibbs…"

**Okay, pls review and this is me running away... till next time, Flea.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Heya, I'm back! Thanks for all the reviews that I got for the last chapter, it really made my heart and my muse happy. I want to thank my new beta, , for the advice and editing – welcome to my world. Enjoy!**

_Previously:_

_Jacky stood up and walked towards the waiting room, where there were people who were not as lucky as her –she was with her husband. At least she had the peace of mind that he was still with her and that he was alive. _

_She walked into the waiting room and saw a heart breaking scene. Ducky and Abby were holding each other, crying. Ziva and McGee were sitting next to each other, both were staring at the floor. They looked up as she walked in._

"_Is he….? Did the doctors say….?" Jacky couldn't stop the tears as they spilled out of her eyes, but she couldn't finish her sentence either. Four sets of eyes met hers, but it was Ducky that answered:_

"_No, we're still waiting."_

_Just then a middle aged doctor came in and spoke, "Family of Leroy Gibbs…" _

Present:

Everybody in the waiting room stood up at once and the doctor recoiled in surprise.

"You all are family?" he said looking suspicious. Ducky stepped forward and took over the conversation.

"My name is Doctor Mallard. I am Agent Gibbs' personal physician and this is his family."

The other doctor shook his hand and looked at the strange group of people standing around; he made up his mind he was going to tell them what they needed to know.

"My name is Dr Monza; where to begin?" Taking the time to look each member of the group in their eyes, he took a deep breath before starting on the big list of injuries.

"Your friend had some extensive internal bleeding and the bullet did quite a bit of damage, but we managed to stop the bleeding and do the necessary repairs. That was the worst of his injuries, but not the only ones. He has four broken ribs, but luckily none came close to his lungs. His left knee is sprained badly and his right leg has a hairline fracture on the tibia. His left wrist is broken and so is his right collar bone. His jaw was dislocated but we fixed that and he has multiple contusions all over his body. He must have suffered through a lot of beatings. The bruises were deep, but none of them will cause permanent damage. He is also suffering from dehydration and exhaustion."

The doctor stopped to take a breath and saw the tears that were rolling down all the faces of the people in front of him. "I know it sounds horrible, but he will be fine. Right now we are keeping him sedated to make sure that his body get the rest it needs to start the healing process, which is going to take some time."

"Can we see him?" Abby spoke up and the doctor smiled kindly. He knew family when he saw them and even though he could see these guys were not related by blood they were definitely a family.

"I am a firm believer that people can hear family when they are sedated or in comas so yes, please by all means. I just ask that you stay out of the way of the nurses when they come in to do their jobs."

The group nodded vigorously and the doctor left with a promise to send someone to show them to Gibbs' room as soon as he was situated; the group exchanged hugs and the air immediately felt clearer and they all breathed a sigh of relief.

Their rock would be ok.

NCIS

Meanwhile back at the office,

"Tony? Did something happen to Leroy?"

"Yeah, Jack. That's why I'm calling, uhm…."

"What is it, Tony?"

"He was kidnapped a couple of days ago and we found him earlier today."

"Oh no, Tony, please no….."

"Jack, he was in surgery about 30 minutes ago, but as far as I know he is still alive." The relieved gasp was audible, but it still broke Tony's heart.

"Thank God." The old man was crying, the tears evident in his voice.

"Do you want me to come and fetch you, Jack?"

"No, Tony, I will find my own way there. You need to go to Leroy, he needs you now."

Tony sighed, "Okay, Jack. Be safe please."

"I always am, Tony. See you later." With that the phone went dead. Tony looked up at Cally who was standing behind him.

"I will send a car to fetch him. Go to the hospital, Tony, we need to know if they are alright."

Tony got up, suddenly feeling very tired, "I will let you know, Cally, and Thank you."

With that he left for the hospital.

NCIS

The team was shown into a fairly large room. There were chairs next to the bed and two couches against the far wall, with a table in the middle of the room.

Mcgee whistled as he took in the room, "Looks like the VIP suite."

"It _is_ the VIP suite." The team jumped at the voice of the SECNAV standing behind them. "We wanted to make sure that Gibbs gets better quickly. He may be a bastard, but he is still a damn good agent. Besides, we owe him for so much and I know you all won't go home until he is better, so you might as well be comfortable." He smiled wryly, "He was kidnapped right under our noses- that takes balls the size of Europe. I want to know who these guys are."

Everyone chuckled at the remark, but the laughter quickly died down as they took in the still form of the silver haired fox on the bed. It seemed so unnatural to see him like that.

Gibbs was lying on his back, with a sheet up to his waist. There was a big bandage covering the incision made by the surgeons earlier. He was breathing on his own, though with the help of a nasal cannula. His face was an assortment of colours ranging from blue and purple to yellow and a sick green. The part of his chest that was visible from under the bandage was one big, purple bruise. His broken wrist was in a cast and his collar bone was wrapped up tightly. His other hand had an IV running through it. But as bad as everything looked, the steady beat on the heart monitor told them what they wanted to know and needed to hear. Leroy Jethro Gibbs was still with them and he would be just fine.

NCIS

"Honey? You awake?" Jackie walked softly to the side of her husband's bed. Vance slowly opened his eyes and looked at her.

"Jackie." The word came out like a croak, and Jackie quickly moved to give him some water which he accepted gratefully.

"How you feeling?" Jackie stroked his hair and took his hand in her other one. He was still so cold.

"Tired, sore," He swallowed, "guilty." The last word was so soft that Jackie wouldn't have heard it if she hadn't been standing so close. It still shocked her, but she knew that this moment was coming.

"The first two I get, but the last one I'm not too sure about. What exactly do you feel guilty about?" she knew of course, but she needed him to say it- to get it off his chest and out his mind. She had enough practise with her husband's mind to know that unless he dealt with a problem quickly it would fester and turn ugly.

"What is there to get, Jackie? I killed Gibbs!" His voice rose and for a second it surprised Jackie but she kept a cool head as he slapped her hand away from his head, but kept a firm grip on the hand holding his. Jackie sat back down.

"Why would you say that? You weren't the one that hurt him or shot him."

"But I allowed it to happen. If Gibbs had known about the threat on his life, he would've been more careful and they wouldn't have had the chance to get him."

"And how do you think Gibbs feels?"

"He can't feel anything because he is dead! He died all because of me." He broke off as he choked on his own words. His eyes filled with tears, but he bit down refusing to break down like a child in front of his wife.

"Oh, honey, Gibbs is still alive. He is hurt bad, but he is still alive. He is in a room just down the hall."

Vance looked at his wife with a strange expression on his face. He looked confused but still sad.

"He is still alive?" he asked softly – almost as if he didn't want to know the answer.

"Yes, he is. So you can stop feeling guilty." Vance's eyes glazed over as exhaustion once again took over his body. But he still couldn't believe it; he had to see for himself – after he woke up.

"Want to see him." His voice slurred and his eyes closed as his breathing evened out.

Jackie smiled, "As soon as you are better, honey." She bent down to kiss him softly on his cheek. She turned and left heading for the cafeteria; she needed coffee badly. That got her thinking about the other man that also loved coffee. Maybe she should sneak some in and wave it under his nose – that'd wake Gibbs up. As the elevator doors closed behind her she smiled thinking that even if it took a long time- things would eventually work out.

NCIS

When Tony walked into Gibbs' room he saw in the dimmed lighting four figures scattered over the furniture. He smiled as he heard two distinct snoring patterns, and almost laughed out loud as a thought struck him. The laugh turned into to a cough.

"Something…..funny…..Dinozzo?" Tony almost jumped through the roof.

"Gibbs, I heard they were keeping you sedated."

"Don't know. That will explain why I feel so sleepy," he croaked out and Tony stepped forward and held the cup with a straw to Gibbs' mouth. He drank a couple of sips before he pushed the straw out of his mouth.

"Maybe you should sleep, Boss. That's the only way you'll get better and we need you to get better Boss."

"Not …..Before…you tell me…what was so …..funny," he struggled for each word as the drugs won the fight over his consciousness again.

"Oh, that. I was just thinking that even Ducky's snores have a Scottish accent." Tony smiled as he looked down at his boss, mentor, friend and even father and saw a small smile play on his lips. He was asleep again but the smile stayed.

"You will be fine boss."

NCIS

Somewhere in Washington, Mr. Duvenhage was pacing in his apartment. Things didn't go according to plan, but he was far from finished. Vance would learn his lesson before he died. And Gibbs was fun to toy with. Just then, an evil smile played across his features. He would leave them for now.

"Stefan, Tiekie, kom hier!" Where were those two idiots?

"Yes?"

"Ja?"

"Pack our bags, we are going home. Maar ons sal terug kom and when we do come back, the fun will start all over again. This time, however it will be much, much better." He started laughing and soon his two cohorts laughed with him. Two hours later everything was packed up and on the way to the airport. Mr. Duvenhage was excited to go back to sunny South Africa, he needed to breathe his own country's air to finalise his next and final plan.

"This time you got lucky Vance, next time you will watch your man die as I slowly kill him and then you will die, knowing you failed another man under your command." And with a last look at the Washington skyline, they got onto their plane and it took off.

NCIS

They say when goodness fills a place evil always feels the need to run and hide. Just as the plane carrying the evil away from Washington took off, a good man drove into town heading straight for the hospital. The agent was a good driver, but Jackson Gibbs was in a hurry and asked the driver to go faster, which he luckily obliged. All Jackson wanted to do was be with his son, but he had this feeling in his gut that whatever had happened to Leroy was just the beginning, and that it was far from over.

NCIS

**What do you think? Let me know. (Hint, hint: I'm going for a 100 reviews, just so you know).**


	10. Chapter 10

**Heya, guys. Here we go! WOW, 10 chapters. Originally, I just wanted this story to be about 6 or 7 chapters, but now it looks like it might be somewhat longer. Major thanks to my beta, C. Nichole for the awesome job she does. Also thanks to my cousin who listens to me rambling with every chapter, Dankie Nooi! Thanks to all the reviewers, alerts and favs; you guys rock.**

**I don't own the characters, just playing.**

**This chapter goes out to captainmorgen101, hope it was worth the wait! Enjoy.**

When Jackson Gibbs got to the hospital, he phoned Tony, who told him where his son's room was. He ran to the elevator as fast as his old legs could carry him. In the elevator his mind was showing him horrible things- Tony never did tell him in what condition Leroy was.

Finally, he reached the room and took a deep breath before going inside. Jackson was not surprised to see the whole team asleep on various pieces of furniture, but what did shock him a bit was being able to look into his son's blue eyes.

"Leroy?" He practically ran up to the bed and grabbed the weak hand of his son.

"Dad? What are you doing here?" Gibbs' voice was soft, the exhaustion and pain evident.

"Where else would I be?" Jackson asked him, "my son needed me and here I am." He motioned with his hands down his body and smiled at the younger Gibbs on the bed.

"Tony called you." Just a simple statement and the older Gibbs it confirmed with a nod. Gibbs sighed.

"Why don't you rest for a while?" Jackson pulled a chair closer and sat down.

"I can't." Gibbs' blue eyes reflected an emotion that Jackson had not seen since Leroy was a boy- his only son was scared.

"OK, then we can talk or just sit here." Gibbs looked at his father and raised an eyebrow, causing Jack to laugh, "Sleep, son; I'm here. No one will come close to you," he looked over his shoulder to the team, "or them. That is a promise."

Gibbs fought a couple more seconds, but finally gave in and slept – all the while keeping a death grip on his father's hand. Jackson looked over his son's body- he noted every bandage that would cause a new scar as well as the unnatural bulges in the sheets. There was a long road ahead, but Leroy would not be alone- Jack would be there, every step of the way.

NCIS

A soft knock on the door alerted the occupants in the room that they had a visitor. Jacky Vance turned around to see Anthony Dinozzo standing at the door. She waved him in.

"Mrs Vance," Tony politely greeted her and then, noticing Vance looking at him, greeted him as well, "Director Vance, it's good to see you awake, sir."

"Agent Dinozzo," Jacky greeted him, "And how many times do I have to tell you to call me Jacky?"

"At least a couple more times, ma'am," he answered with a cocky smile.

"Dinozzo how is Gibbs?" Leon Vance's voice was a mere whisper. He sounded like he had gone weeks without water.

"He woke up a little while ago, sir. He joked about Ducky's snoring," Tony answered with a straight face, the comment earning him a raised eyebrow from Vance.

"Gibbs? Or you?" he asked Tony with a hint of a smile playing at his lips. Tony shrugged,

"OK, OK, I made the joke about Ducky's snoring," he shrugged again, "who knew his snoring would have a Scottish accent as well?" Tony smiled when he got the desired effect- Vance laughing.

"Smart ass," Vance's mask was back on, "how is he really?" Was that worry in his voice?

"Yeah, he's got a long road to recovery ahead, but the doctors are confident that he will be fine. He got some pretty serious injuries." Tony noticed a flash in the Director's eyes.

"Did you catch them?" Vance didn't look up; he stared at his hands on his lap.

"One got shot by McGee, the others got away," Tony said regretfully.

"Damnit!" Vance slammed his fist on the bed causing his wife to jump.

"Leon, calm down," she said coaxingly, trying to placate her husband.

"Sorry," Vance said to her and then locked eyes with Dinozzo, "I am so sorry, Tony. This is my all fault."

Tony smiled a little, not understanding what the Director was saying, "Never apologize, Director – it's a sign of weakness." Jacky looked at him with confusion written all over her face.

"Gibbs' rules," he said and she nodded before turning her attention back to her husband. Before anybody could say anything more, a nurse came in with some food for Vance.

"Director Vance, I brought you something small. I need you to try and finish it all if you can," the nurse said while looking shyly at Tony. He flashed a brilliant smile, which made her blush.

"I need to go back upstairs. Jack arrived a little while ago, I need to go and see if he is settled." He turned to leave, but was stopped by Vance,

"Gibbs' father?" _Why does he sound so worried_, Tony wondered, but kept his face smooth.

"Yeah, Jackson Gibbs. Though it's kind of weird thinking my big, bad, tough boss came from that sweet old man." The room burst out laughing and Tony waved as he left. Halfway to Gibbs' room he stopped. The conversation replayed in his mind, it raised more questions than answers. Why was Vance so worried about Gibbs? Never mind that, why was he so worried that Jack was here? 'You would swear he was hiding something,' Tony thought as he changed directions. Coffee and a change of clothes were needed, urgently.

NCIS

A couple of hours later, Tony walked into Gibbs' room with two cups of coffee. He smiled in greeting to Jack as he handed him a cup.

"I hope I remembered how you drink it," he whispered, and then frowned. He noticed that Jack was working with one hand.

Jackson tasted the coffee and smiled approvingly at Tony, "Perfect," he saw Tony frowning, "he needs to feel someone close." He answered Tony's unasked question and motioned towards a sleeping Gibbs and their joined hands. Tony nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, he's been fighting the meds ever since they brought him in," Tony said with a sad tone, sitting down on another chair close to Jack.

"He hates not being in control," Jack said, "he never did like medicine either. Even normal colds and flues were a challenge." The old man smiled, a nostalgic expression coming over his face, his lips curled into a smile, "even as a small boy, he was as stubborn as the devil himself."

Tony chuckled, "I wish I could have seen that!"

"You should have seen him arguing with his mother." Jack's smile got wider, "one time, he had a bad cold. His mother tried to keep him home and in bed. When she got to his room, he was standing next to his bed, already dressed and packing his books in his bag. When Anne told him to get back into bed, he looked at her with this solemn expression on his little face and said, 'Mom, I'm fine!'" He stopped to take a breath as Tony was having a fit of giggles, imagining the little boy; Jack went on, "His mother conceded and let him go, about two hours later the school nurse phoned and told us to come and fetch him. He collapsed at school." Jack wiped a tear from his eye, "he had us worried, he was in hospital for almost a week. Turned out the bad cold was pneumonia."

Jack looked at his son. Tony marvelled at the love he saw in the older Gibbs' eyes. He felt like he was intruding and got up. Jackson stopped him and pulled him back in the chair. Tony frowned at him and he just smiled.

"Can you read minds or something?" he asked the other man and Jackson shook his head.

"No, but with most people their eyes tell us everything we want to know." Tony looked down at his hands.

For two hours the two men chatted, eventually the rest of the team woke up one by one and then they went for breakfast, leaving Ducky and Jack alone. Jack still wouldn't leave as he had promised Gibbs, and there was the little problem of his hand still in the death grip of his son. He didn't mind though.

NCIS

An hour after the team left, Gibbs stirred. Barely opening his eyes, he looked at the ceiling for a while before slowly and painfully turning his head to the side. His eyes met his father's similar blue ones.

"Welcome back," the older Gibbs said.

"Thanks," Gibbs answered his voice hoarse from lack of use. Jack got up, took the paper cup of water from the night stand, placed a straw in and held his son's head up a little to drink,

"Slow sips, son," he said softly. When Gibbs was done he pushed the straw out. "All done?" his father asked and he nodded weakly.

"Where is Vance?" Gibbs asked after a while.

"As far as I know, he's somewhere on this floor. He is fine, just exhausted and dehydrated." Jackson relayed the information he got from Tony earlier and Gibbs nodded with understanding. Once again he felt the darkness beckoning him; Jackson could see his son's eyes getting heavier. He reached up and stroked his son's hair,

"Sleep, Leroy," he commanded softly and Gibbs just closed his eyes. The older man got up from the chair to stretch his aching limbs. His body wasn't used to sitting so long anymore; he reached the bathroom and went in quickly. Tony's skills as a waiter were admirable, but the amount of coffee was also taking its toll on Jack. When he came out, he smiled as he saw Abby walk into the room.

"Jack!" she screeched and ran up to him as fast as her high heeled boots would allow. She threw her arms around him, "I'm so glad you're here." Her energy was astounding, for someone who had spent most of their night sleeping in an uncomfortable chair.

"Abigail, quiet down and let the man breath," Ducky's voice came from the door.

"We brought you breakfast, Jack." McGee walked up to the older man as Abby released him, he held out his hand and Jack shook it before taking the bag from the younger man.

Tony walked into the room, in the middle of an argument with Ziva,

"…..not attack the man," Tony was saying, he sounded amused, but Ziva's expression was one of pure anger.

"I did not say that I will attack the man, I said that he might need some _percussion_, that I am willing to give him," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"It's persuasion, Zee-vah, and with you it's the same thing," Tony said. The rest of the group laughed at her expression. She saw Jack for the first time and a smile broke the angry expression on her face as she walked forward to hug him.

Jack accepted the hug gratefully. "I am spoiled by all this attention," he said. Drawing smiles from everyone.

"Jack, do you want to go home and shower?" Ducky asked. Jackson looked over at Leroy and saw him frown in his sleep. He quickly went over and spoke in his ear, telling him that he was safe and that everything would be fine, before turning back when Leroy once again relaxed and re-joined the group at the other side of the room.

"No, I'll go later. As soon as Leroy stays awake longer, then I'll go." He sat down on one of the more comfortable couches and took out the breakfast. The rest of the team sat down as well and soft conversation broke out all around. Abby and Ducky spoke to Jack, filling him in on the latest Gibbs gossip while Tony, Ziva and McGee tried to work out the best way to deal with their suspect, who was now in recovery.

No one noticed the man standing by the door, keeping his eyes on the injured man. No one saw the look in his eyes as he turned around and left. Maybe, just maybe it wasn't time for that bomb to explode yet.

Vance made his way back to his room; Jacky had gone home to get the kids settled, so he was all alone and the only thing he could think about was how this whole mess could have been prevented. He truly and honestly was to blame for everything- the question now was: how could he fix it?

**Did you like? I'm aiming for 100 reviews, think I'll make it? (Hint hint)….till next time, CSIflea.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Heya, I am so sorry that it took me so long to finish this chapter. My muse went on strike. Anyway I hope you enjoy it. Thanks to C. Nicole, once again, for the beta work. **

**I don't own any of the characters from the show- I only play with them.**

**This chapter goes out to my brother and his new wife! Welcome to the family Marinet.**

The next couple of days saw Gibbs making a steady recovery. He stayed awake for longer, which in turn allowed his father to go home and get some rest. During this time, Ducky or one the team stayed with him. He didn't like the team to see him so weak, but he couldn't bear to be alone. Jackson made sure that he was with Gibbs during the night, as Gibbs was plagued with horrible dreams.

In typical Leroy Jethro Gibbs fashion, he refused to talk about it. Jackson could see how much the dreams were taking out of his son, but he knew his son well enough to know not to pry. He just hoped that Leroy would work through the issues before they got worse.

Vance was released three days after he was admitted and was back at work before the end of the week. He went after the kidnappers with a vengeance. Over the course of two days, he hardly went home, slept or even ate. It was almost as if he was making up for lost time.

The MRCT worked on the case as well and was driven to exhaustion by Vance. Tony didn't argue- he wanted those bastards just as bad. Silently, however, he watched Vance and noticed how he reacted. He refused to go see Gibbs or to tell anyone what happened during those three days. Vance even ignored Secnav's order to give a statement, claiming his memory was a little fuzzy. Tony had spoken to Ducky about this, and even though the elderly doctor said that it was possible to forget what happened, Tony still didn't believe- or trust him, for that matter. Something about Vance was a little off.

Ziva and McGee felt the same. They just didn't voice their opinions out loud- that was until today.

Nine days after the whole ordeal, Gibbs broke the silence. Jackson was sitting in a chair by the window, Gibbs next to him. The last two days he had been allowed to sit up for short periods of time. Going to the bathroom was still a painful experience, but at least he was able to walk there- with assistance, of course. Jackson was watching a Dutch show on Abby's laptop when Gibbs came back from the bathroom; Tony had told him about this show and said he needed to see it. That's when it happened- Gibbs had sat down and was about to ask his father about the show when he heard the language, as it only had English subtitles.

Gibbs began to hyperventilate. Jackson looked up in surprise, taking in Gibbs' pale face and ragged breathing.

"Leroy?" he asked shocked, "What's wrong?"

"That language!" Gibbs panted, "What language is that?"

"Dutch. Why?" Jackson was getting a little worried about his son. Leroy wasn't one to panic like this.

"They spoke like that," Gibbs took a deep breath, drawing strength from his father's steady hand on his shoulder.

"Son, are you sure?" Jack took out his phone and called Tony. Gibbs just nodded while trying to get his breathing under control.

"Dinozzo."

"Tony, it's Jack. Leroy just remembered something." Jack heard his sharp inhale over the phone.

"What did he remember?"

"The language they used was Dutch." Jack glanced at his son and saw him shake his head. "What is it Leroy?"

"Not Dutch, but similar," he said through shaking breaths.

"Ok, Tony, he said it sounded like Dutch, but it wasn't Dutch."

"That should narrow it down a bit. I will ask Vance what he thinks. Thanks Jack."

"Bye."

Jack turned back to his son to see him looking at his hands. He sat down and waited. Jacks patience was rewarded a couple of minutes later when Gibbs started talking.

"I heard the shot and thought they killed McGee. I turned around to see if he was okay and that's when they struck. I remember feeling something hit me and then falling. It must have been tranquilizers because I woke up later, don't know how long though. I was tied to a wheelchair; they said they wanted Vance to confess something, but I can't remember what. They beat me until I passed out. I was in a van later when I woke up; there was a wire around my neck- if I moved I would have strangled myself. I fought back, Dad." Gibbs suddenly grabbed his father's hand, trying to reassure the older man, "I fought back. I kicked them and head-butted them, but they were too strong." He hung his head and fumbled with the sweatpants he had on, "they broke my leg then. Later, I heard the van stop and Vance talking to the leader, but I didn't hear what they said. Vance got into the van at some point. Then they put us into the cage. They would come to get us out and put Vance in a chair and they would… uh they would…do things, I can't remember everything."

Jack had to swallow hard to get past the massive lump in his throat. He looked over his shoulder to see McGee and Ziva standing at the door. McGee had his phone in his hand. Ziva was wiping tears off her cheeks and muttering in Hebrew- probably curses at the men that had hurt the man she considered a second father.

"How much did you get McGee?" Gibbs' voice was unnaturally soft.

"Enough, so you don't have to go through it again, Boss." He walked in and put his hand on Gibbs' shoulder. "I need to apologize to you."

Before he went on, Jack cleared his throat, "My dear Ziva, I think I need some coffee. Would you mind accompanying me?"

_Oh bless your heart, Dad,_ Gibbs thought.

"I would love to." She held out her arm and, like a proper gentleman, Jack looped his arm through hers and they set off together for the cafeteria.

"Sit down, McGee."

"Boss I …." McGee began, but was cut off by Gibbs.

"No, you have nothing to be sorry for."

"If I didn't get shot, they would never have gotten to you." McGee swallowed hard, "I should have opened my eyes earlier. I should have seen what they were planning."

"McGee, listen to me. I took my eyes off the suspect. I should have paid better attention."

"Let's agree to disagree on that then."

"Agreed."

McGee started smiling and looked at Gibbs who smiled back. Things were not sorted, but at least they had started.

NCIS

Tony looked up from his desk to see Abby walking from the elevator with another woman. She had long, dark brown hair that was almost black. As she came closer, he could see brown eyes looking at him. She had fair skin, but something about her told him that she was a foreigner.

"Tony, meet my friend Michelle." She gestured to the new arrival, "Michelle this is very special agent Anthony Dinozzo or Tony."

"Pleased to meet you, Agent Dinozzo." She held out her hand and he took it gently.

"Please call me Tony, Michelle." He smiled at her, flashing his best flirty smile, "You are not from around here, are you?"

"No, I am not. I am originally from South Africa, but at this moment I am a student at the university here. I specialise in foreign languages. Abby thought I might be able to help you." Michelle smiled at the handsome man in front of her, hoping that she'd be able to get to know him.

Across from her, Tony was thinking the same thing about her.

"Yeah, we are looking for a language that sounds Dutch, but isn't Dutch," he scratched the back of his head, "if it makes any sense."

Michelle laughed and Tony couldn't help but like the sound.

"Actually it makes sense, more than you know." She took a deep breath before starting her explanation, and nobody noticed Vance behind them- listening in.

"As I'm sure you know, most of the languages we use today are derived from other languages. If I'm right then the language you are looking for has a base or touch of Dutch, which means that Dutch has an influence on the language. Now there are a few of them, and I won't be able to tell you which one it is until I get an example of it."

"Do you have examples of the languages?" the three people jumped as Vance suddenly spoke up from behind.

"Yes, I do. I actually speak one of them quite well." Michelle met Vance's eyes without a flinch.

"I heard them, so I will be able to tell you." He looked at Tony, "How exactly will this help us?"

"If we can determine where they come from, we can get a solid idea of who they are and what they want." Tony stared right back at Vance.

"Fine, just hurry up then." He turned to leave, but Tony's voice stopped him.

"I thought you didn't remember anything." Not an accusation- no this was statement. A pang of guilt slammed through Vance- over the last two weeks, it was a feeling he had gotten used to.

"What are you saying, Agent Dinozzo?" He walked up to Tony, trying to intimidate him. Tony didn't even flinch- evidence that he had been working with Gibbs way too long.

"I think that you don't want to remember. I think that you are trying to hide something." Abby gasped- Tony was like a mini Gibbs.

"Who do you think you are, Dinozzo?" Vance's voice was so icy it could have frozen over a desert.

"I am the person who had to see his second father almost die and now I am the person standing in front of the bastard who has the answers, but is too selfish to help this team find the fuckers who almost killed a good man." Tony couldn't believe he was saying this to Vance, but it was too late to back down now.

"His blood is on my hands, Dinozzo, whatever happened or why is none of your business!" Vance shouted at Tony.

"That is where you are wrong, Vance!" Tony shouted back.

"Oh, yeah?" The sarcasm really didn't match Vance's wrinkled suit.

"Yeah! Think about it, you arrogant ass." Tony went on, ignoring the crowd now surrounding the bullpen. "Gibbs saw them as did you; we only caught one of them- the rest got away. They won't stay away forever. They will come back and when they do, who do you think they will go after?"

"Gibbs," the Secnav's voice cut through the silence like a knife. Everybody turned to see Clayton Jarvis standing by the elevator. He walked over to where Vance and Tony still stood toe-to-toe.

"What are you hiding, Leon?"

"They wanted access to a top secret mission." The admission came almost silently and Tony could see Vance breaking down, "I refused to give it to them and because of that they targeted one of my agents. They took Gibbs to prove a point. Then they threatened to kill him and my family if I didn't get into the van. I didn't have a choice." He took a deep breath, "they beat him up because I refused to talk."

Tony and Jarvis glanced at each other, but before they could say anything, a phone rang. Michelle blushed and apologized. She quickly answered her phone and spoke rapidly in another language. She was on the edge of the bullpen, but Vance heard her and got up, a shocked almost fearful expression on his face. Michelle ended her call and turned to catch Vance staring at her.

"Sorry, that was my mother. Different time zones you see. It's night time in South Africa and she just wanted to say good night." She was rambling again.

"What language was that?" Vance's voice was almost a whisper.

"Afrikaans, it's my mother tongue." she answered with a frown.

"Your what?" Jarvis sounded as confused as Tony felt.

"My mother tongue, it means the language I grew up with. My first language if you will."

"That's the language they spoke." Vance's knees buckled and it was only Tony's quick thinking that got Gibbs' desk chair behind him before he fell to the ground.

"Are you sure?" Jarvis asked, and Vance nodded.

"How does that help us?" Tony asked.

"Well, I don't know much about your case, but I can tell you that if it was Afrikaans you heard, it probably means that the people you are looking for are South African."

"You sound confident," Jarvis sounded sceptical, "there must be a lot of countries that use that language."

Michelle shook her head, "that's where you're wrong." She turned to Vance, "I need you to tell me how they spoke it." Vance looked at her with a puzzled expression, but she explained, "Did they sound like me? Or were the sounds flat?"

Vance thought a minute, "Just like how you spoke it. Fast. They spoke really fast." Michelle nodded and went to stand in front of the small group. Ducky and Palmer had joined in the chaos.

"The language is indigenous to South Africa and even though it is still a relatively young language, it is unlikely that you will find anyone who speaks the language like I do in another country. I can even tell you in which province in South Africa they are from."

"Wow." It was the only word that Tony could say.

"Then welcome to the team, Miss." Jarvis shook her hand, obviously very impressed, "Agent Dinozzo, I think you two should go and speak to the suspect tomorrow." Tony nodded and Jarvis looked at Vance, "In the meantime, Leon, I think you and I need to have a little talk in your office."

With that, and not even waiting to see if Vance would follow, he walked up the stairs to the Director's office.

**There you go! Thank you for all the reviews and alerts you guys really make my day. Keep them coming though- my target is still 100 (only 34 to go!) – till next time, CSIflea. **


	12. Chapter 12

**Heya! I'm back. Thank you to all the readers that reviewed and are helping me reach the target. You guys really make writing fun. I am so sorry for taking so long to update, but we had exams in SA and I had to get all the reports ready and finalised. So here we go- an extra-long chapter. Thanks again to C. Nicole for her hard work as my beta.**

**I don't own any of them, just Michelle and the bad guys, (insert evil laugh here).**

Tony walked up to the dark haired woman who was standing in the queue waiting for some coffee. He placed his order and then, without a word, joined her by the table she'd taken in the meantime. She looked up at Tony and smiled.

"Hey." A blush crept into her face as Tony flashed a brilliant smile.

"Hey." A short comfortable silence followed.

"So, are you ready?" She took a deep breath and nodded.

"Yeah, I am. Not sure why the Secretary of the Navy wants me there with you, but I think that it will be fun," Michelle said without looking up from her coffee.

"It's because if these guys really are from South Africa, like we suspect and they speak this language that you know, then we need someone to translate. Seeing as you are fluent it that language and in English, we can save time. It really will help." He smiled suddenly, "And I can spend more time with you."

"It's Afrikaans." Michelle looked at Tony again and smiled, seeing his confusion. "You keep saying 'this language' and 'that language.' Use its name: Afrikaans." Tony nodded. They finished their coffee and headed out to Tony's car.

"Let's do this, shall we?" Tony opened the passenger side door for Michelle and ran around towards the driver's side. He got in and a few seconds later they were on the way to the hospital.

"Did you mean it?" Michelle asked quietly, "you wanting to spend more time with me?"

"Yeah, I did." Tony answered truthfully. There was just something about this woman that intrigued him and he was dying to get to know her.

"Good, because I want the same thing," Michelle said and two hearts leapt with joy.

NCIS

At the hospital Gibbs had been getting more and more irritable. Jackson was having a real hard time getting him to calm down.

"Dad, I can rest more at home than here," Gibbs complained to his father.

"Son, you should listen to these people. They know better than you do." Jackson tried to reason with Gibbs even though he knew that it was useless. The only response he got was a grunt.

A while later the doctor came in followed by a nurse. After greeting the Gibbs men, the nurse silently went about taking Gibbs' blood pressure and pulse while the doctor picked up Gibbs' chart and consulted it for a minute.

"Well, Special Agent Gibbs it would seem that we have done everything we can for you. So I am going to release you, provided you have someone to stay with you." The doctor looked between Gibbs and his father.

"I will be staying with him, and his team will also help," the older man said, giving Gibbs a glare which clearly allowed no room for arguments.

"Then I can release you tomorrow morning. I will still need to see you at least once a week and your physical therapy will continue as well." He wrote something in the chart, said goodbye to the two men and left.

"Looks like you got your wish, Jethro." Jackson smiled as he saw the relief on his son's face. Before the nurse left she gave Gibbs his medication and he couldn't hide the yawn that escaped him. Jackson helped him lie down and covered him slightly with the sheet on the bed.

"Mm, sure, Dad." Was the slurred response he got. Gibbs never could handle medicine and almost always ended up sleeping after he had taken any. Rest was what he needed now though, so it ended up being a good thing. Jackson settled into the chair next to Gibbs' bed to read his book while his son slept.

A little while later, there was a soft knock on the door. Jackson looked up to see Tony. He waved him inside and Tony walked in followed by a beautiful young woman.

"Hey, Jack." He motioned towards the sleeping form of his boss on the bed, "How is he?"

"He is fine!" Gibbs answered suddenly, his voice still hoarse from sleep.

"Jethro is going home tomorrow morning. Don't mind him Tony, he's always grumpy when he wakes up." Gibbs tries to glare at his father and only got a smile in return. Tony just kept quiet.

"Who is the pretty little thing there with you, Tony?" Jack smiled at the woman behind Tony.

"Gibbs, Jack- this is Michelle. This is my boss and his father," Tony said.

"Pleased to meet you, sir," Michelle said politely and extended her hand. Gibbs took it and growled,

"Don't call me sir." Tony smirked. Turning to Michelle, he explained:

"Call him Gibbs or Jethro, preferably Gibbs. He doesn't like 'sir.'" Tony noticed Michelle had gone a little paler and she had dropped her eyes. He looked towards Gibbs and frowned. Jack got up and walked towards the dark haired woman behind Tony,

"Hi, Michelle, it is a pleasure to meet you." He smiled at her and she returned the smile,

"Pleased to meet you too, sir." Jack shook his head slightly,

"You don't have to call me sir, Michelle." He said in a kind voice, exchanging a look with Gibbs and Tony. Michelle took a deep breath and said in a shaky voice,

"I am sorry gentlemen, but where I come from, we are taught from a very young age that if someone is older than you to call them specific words. Unfortunately, those words mean something different in English, so the next best thing to call you would be 'sir'. We believe that older people deserve respect from younger people." After her explanation, Tony and Jack nodded, but Gibbs just frowned at her.

"Your accent," he swallowed, "where do you come from?"

"South Africa. My first language, or rather home language, is Afrikaans," Michelle explained.

Gibbs just nodded and kept quiet. Jack spoke up,

"So what brings you two here?" he asked peaking Gibbs' curiosity again.

"We caught one of the bastards, but he got shot. The doctors only gave us access to him today. Secnav believes that if we have someone that speaks his language, he will be more co-operative." Gibbs nodded and looked at Michelle.

"Good luck," he said and closed his eyes.

"We better get going," Tony said quickly, "Bye Jack; do you want us to pick you guys up tomorrow?"

"Oh, yes, Tony- that would be great. It was a pleasure to meet you, Michelle; bye Tony."

With those words, Tony and Michelle left and headed for the other hospital room. Jack smiled- they looked so cute together.

NCIS

By the time they reached the desired floor, Michelle had butterflies in her stomach. Tony must have realised that she was nervous, because he placed his hand on her shoulder and squeezed. They walked to room 506, and went in without knocking. A nurse was trying to ask the injured man if he was hungry, but he just stared at her. Michelle decided to help out.

"Sy wil weet of jy honger is." All Tony heard was a bunch of gibberish, but the man on the bed had a reaction. He whipped his head around and stared wide eyed at Michelle.

"Ja, ek is." A short reply.

"He says he is hungry," she translated to the nurse, who smiled at her gratefully. Michelle glanced at Tony who nodded. She took a deep breath and started.

"My naam is Michelle. Hierdie is Special Agent Tony Dinozzo. Ons wil jou net 'n paar vrae vra." Tony stared at Michelle openly. The language flowed fluently from her tongue. The injured man looked at him with a disgusted look on his face when Michelle introduced him.

"Ek gaan niks sê nie. So jy en jou brakkie hier kan maar waai." Tony had no idea what the guy said, but judging by the look on his face and the angry flash in Michelle's eyes- it wasn't good.

"Jy het nie veel van 'n keuse nie. As hulle jou terug pos Suid Afrika toe gaan jy tronk toe en jy weet dit net so goed soos ek. Wat gaan jou familie dan van jou dink? Sê vir die mense wat jy weet en miskien sal hulle jou help." That must have been a threat because the guy went slightly paler than what he was already. After a short 'Mexican stand-off,' the guy nodded. Michelle turned to Tony.

"What do you want to know?" He cocked an eyebrow; that was easy.

"Is he going to talk?" Tony still couldn't believe it was that easy to get the answers.

"Yes, I believe he will. Family is important to Afrikaans, people or rather most of us. Anyways I just threatened his reputation with his family." Michelle gave a small smile, Tony nodded.

"OK, let's start shall we?" Tony took out his small notebook and looked over to where Michelle stood "What is his name?"

"Wie is jy?"

"Koos Venter."

"You got that?" Michelle looked at Tony.

"Yeah, who does he work for?"

"Vir wie werk jy?"

"Nee, daar is nie 'n fokken manier dat ek dit vir jou sê nie!" The man got agitated.

"Koos, luister vir my. As jy hulle nie help nie kan hulle jou nie help nie." Michelle grabbed the injured man's hand. His shoulders slumped.

"Duvenage." Koos closed his eyes, Michelle let out a small gasp causing Tony to look up from where he was writing in his little book.

"Michelle? What's wrong?" Michelle's eyes had a frightened look to them.

"Pieter Duvenage is a crime boss. He lives in the Free State." Tony was having a little trouble understanding what Michelle was saying.

"What?" Tony was getting more and more confused.

"The guy Koos works for is a very influential man, Tony. He is a crime boss from a South African province called the Free State. It's in the heart of South Africa. It's farm country. Kind of like Montana," Michelle explained without taking her eyes off Koos.

"So, what does he have to do with my boss?"

"Wat soek hy met Gibbs," Tony saw the man flinch.

"Hy soek nie vir Gibbs nie. Hy soek sy baas. Die swart ou. Gibbs was maar net 'n manier om die swarte te kry."

"He says that Duvenage never went after Gibbs. He just used him to get to Vance." Suddenly everything became very clear to Tony.

"Where is this dude?" Tony wasn't even going to try to pronounce the guy's name.

"Waar is hy?" Michelle repeated in Afrikaans.

"Seker terug huistoe. As hy nog nie hier was om my vrek te maak te maak nie, dan dink hy hopelik ek is klaar dood."

"He says he thinks that Duvenage went home," Michelle translated.

"Why would he think that?" Tony asked.

"Because if Duvenage knew that Koos was still alive he, would have come back to kill him first and he didn't."

"Oh," was all that Tony got out.

"Anything else?" Michelle asked suddenly.

"Uh no, no, I think I got everything. If we need anything else, we'll come back." Tony put his notebook back in his pocket.

"Ek dink dis al. As ons nog iets nodig het, dan sal ons weer omkom." Michelle spoke in Afrikaans, but she was smiling.

"Gaan hulle my help?" Was that fear in the man's face?

"Tony, he needs to be protected from Pieter. If he comes back and finds out Koos told you about him, he will kill him," Michelle told Tony.

"Yeah, we can do that. As long as he continues to help us." Tony turned back to the man on the bed.

"Hy sê hulle sal jou beskerm. Solank jy belowe om hulle verder te help." Michelle spoke rapidly in Afrikaans again and Tony saw the man nod.

"Ok, now that we all agree." Tony said sarcastically and left the room.

Michelle said goodbye to Koos and followed Tony out. She caught up to him by the elevators and grabbed his arm.

"What was that about?" she asked him angrily.

"What?" He tried the innocent look, but it didn't work.

"I know he hurt your boss and I know you are pissed off at him, but can't you understand why he did it?" Michelle asked him.

"I don't care why he did it. He came from another country and hurt the one person I see as a father. He had no right. He attacked Gibbs in his own country…." Tony trailed off as he saw the look in Michelle's eyes.

"Don't worry about taking me home. I will find my own way in your country." Michelle walked towards the stairs.

"Michelle, wait," but she just kept on walking and Tony let her.

NCIS

Two months later saw Gibbs on his way back to work. He got his badge back and everything was back to normal. He took his father to Stillwater the day before, and he was ready to get back to work.

Vance only spoke to him when he needed to, and only in short sentences. Gibbs knew the man blamed himself, but no one could find out why. Vance was avoiding the question like the plague and not even the talk with Secnav had made the man see sense. _Oh, well, I am just going to have to talk to him myself_, Gibbs thought.

Looking in his rear-view mirror, Gibbs noticed a car following him and took a turn. The car was still behind him. Suddenly the car hit his back bumper, Gibbs swore and drove a little faster. The car hit him again.

'What the hell?' Gibbs thought as he saw another car hitting him from the side. He lost control of his car then and ran into a lamp pole.

The only thing that broke the silence was the hissing of the engine and the groans coming from the man behind the steering wheel.

A hand came into view and it grabbed Gibbs by the throat. He groaned again as agony sliced through his body. A rough voice with a strange accent spoke,

"Make sure your boss gets this, Gibbs." With bleary eyes, Gibbs watched as a card floated onto his lap. Then the hand was gone and the distinct sounds of cars could be heard driving away. With shaking fingers, Gibbs picked up his cell phone and pressed speed dial. While he waited for Tony to answer the phone, he picked up the note with his free hand. He read the note and blinked again, afraid his fuzzy eyesight was playing tricks on him.

The card was slightly shaking in Gibbs' trembling fingers as he read it again:

_Dear Gibbs & Vance,_

_I'm back. Did you miss me?_

_We will have fun again soon._

_Xxxx_

**AND? What do you think? I'm almost at my **_100_** target, YAY! Please go and vote in my poll on my profile page… I'll need an answer soon. Till next time-CSIflea.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Heya, I know you have all been waiting for an update, but I have decided to take a break over the next week or two.**

**I want to thank each and every one of my readers who reviewed, put up alerts and favourited my stories, even if you just read it. Thanks for all your support in 2012 and I hope to see you in 2013 again. There are some new stories coming up and some old ones finishing early next year, so keep an eye out.**

**Have a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year. May you have a blessed time with friends and family.**

**From everyone on the planet Fleasia,**

**Till next time,**

**CSIflea.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Heya! An extra-long chapter after the extra-long wait. I hope you enjoy. THANK YOU, to all my reviewers! I made my hundred reviews (everybody do a victory dance) and I got it before New Year's! Let's see where we can go with the reviews?**

**Oh, a big shout out to my wonderful beta, C. Nicole.**

Abby was making everyone in the bullpen crazy. She was pacing up and down, asking McGee every two minutes if he had heard from Tony. He'd gone to help Gibbs after the phone call a couple of hours before. The whole team, including Ducky, Abby and Jimmy Palmer, was there awaiting Gibbs arrival. They wanted to give him a proper welcome back before they got down to business. Instead of Gibbs arriving, he phoned Tony saying that he was in a car crash and he needed help. Abby didn't know what scared her the most- Gibbs in a car crash (on his first day back) or Gibbs phoning for help.

"Have you heard anything yet, Timmy?" Abby asked for the second time.

"No, Abby. Not since you asked me," he looked at his watch, "three minutes ago." Abby's only reply was a sigh and she continued pacing. Jimmy was quiet, stuck in his own thoughts as he sat behind Tony's desk. Ziva was tapping her fingers on her desk, but her face was calm. McGee was tracking Tony's GPS on his computer. He breathed a sigh of relief as he saw them heading to NCIS headquarters.

"Where's Gibbs?" Vance spoke from the edge of the bullpen. Nobody heard him come down the stairs or walk up to them. They were just too worried about their fearless leader. Ziva was the one, who answered,

"He was in a car accident on his way to work. Tony and Ducky went to fetch him." Ziva's calm control wavered as worry slipped through in her voice.

"What?" Vance asked. His face had gone very pale causing Jimmy to jump from his chair and quickly push it behind Vance so he could sit down.

"Are you alright, Sir?" McGee asked. Before Vance could answer, the unmistakable sound of the elevator echoed through the office. Everyone looked over to see a very worried Tony walking out, followed by a pale Gibbs who was supported by Ducky. The trio walked over to the bull pen. Without saying a word Ducky helped Gibbs to sit down behind his desk; Tony didn't take his eyes of them until Gibbs was settled. When Ducky moved away, Abby got her first look at Gibbs.

He was pale and had a bandage over his left eye and a shiner that would be sore for weeks. He held himself stiffly- he probably hurt his still tender ribs-again. He had a cut on his arm and his left knee was so swollen, it could be seen through his torn pants.

"What the hell happened?" Vance finally found his voice. He jumped up to glare at Gibbs. "You forget how to drive?"

"Oh shut up, Leon!" Gibbs said almost violently. "Your friends gave you a message. I wonder when the fuck you planned on coming to terms and letting the rest of us in on what these fuckers want- before they get lucky and kill me. You know what they say about the third time," Gibbs almost spat the words.

"What…..what are you talking about?" Vance asked shakily, suddenly very nervous.

"Jethro, maybe you…" Ducky didn't get to finish his sentence, because at that moment Gibbs slammed his fist down on his desk. Everyone jumped, but kept quiet. Gibbs struggled to his feet and pegged Vance with a steely glare.

"I want to know why somebody thinks trying to kill me is a good way to get to you! If they try again, and I guarantee you they will, I want to know why someone wants me dead!" Gibbs was shouting. His rant was followed by a soul-shattering silence. Gibbs was breathing hard; Ducky was worried about his friend. As usual he refused hospital treatment and the old doctor was sure his ribs were broken, again. Even though Ducky could get Jethro to do more things than anyone else, save from Jackson, he wasn't suicidal enough to try and get him to see reason at the moment.

The silence was broken by the elevator signalling an arrival of someone else. Nobody in the bull pen moved, the entire office was staring at the scene, no one paying attention to the man walking from the elevator. The man stopped dead in his tracks as he felt the tension in the air, moving a little further into the office, he noticed the scene unfolding.

"I think the show is over people." Secretary Jarvis said loudly, causing agents to scramble around and avert their eyes. No one moved in the bull pen. Clayton Jarvis looked at the scene in front of him. Gibbs was staring down Vance and even from a distance Jarvis could see the fire in Jethro's eyes. The man looked like he got hurt again. Vance was standing his ground, but he was paler than usual. Dr Mallard was close to Gibbs and his gaze was fixed on him. Tony was standing slightly behind Vance with a look on his face that was positively murderous. McGee was behind his desk, with Abby next to him, a protective arm around her shoulders. She looked scared, flicking her gaze between Gibbs and Vance. Ziva and the other guy from autopsy was standing behind DiNozzo, both had confused looks on their faces. Jarvis took a deep breath and walked into the fire.

"What. The. Hell. Is. Going. On. Here?" Jarvis asked, giving everyone a stern glare. Tony spoke up not taking his eyes off of the scene in front of him.

"Someone ran Gibbs of the road this morning. The same people who kidnapped and almost killed him two months ago. Oh, and they seem to know Vance pretty well. Gibbs is pissed because he doesn't know why someone wants him dead." There were no sign of the usual playfulness in his voice. Jarvis felt the anger rise in his chest.

"Everyone in MTAC, now!" he yelled.

"Why?" Gibbs growled, the anger still evident in his voice.

"We are going to get to the bottom of this whole thing," he looked at Vance, "there are some questions that need answering."

With that he turned around and walked up the stairs. Gibbs limped forward before Tony put his arm around Gibbs' waist to help him up the stairs. The rest followed slowly. Vance looked at the people on their way to MTAC. Steeling himself, he took a deep breath and walked up to MTAC as well. They were going to put an end to this today.

NCIS

Michelle was busy making her second cup of coffee. Lectures were cancelled, so she had the whole day to kill. Making her way to her stereo, she picked a cd her mom had sent her for Christmas. It was one of her favourite South African artists, and not long after, the sounds of Juanita du Plessis filled the small apartment. Michelle smiled as she listened to the songs; she closed her eyes and let the memories fill her mind. She could see her mother making her famous Monkey gland steak (even with the recipe, Michelle couldn't make it quite the same), her father on the tractor as he ploughed the fields on their small farm, her older brother coming from work in his uniform and rushing out when someone needed the ambulance. She could see her other brother going to his work at the local furniture store and she could see herself coming from school in her navy blue school dress. One of her classmates lived on a farm close by and she used to get a lift to and from school in their light blue truck. She suddenly wondered if that particular truck was still running- it was falling apart even then.

Unfortunately, with the good came the bad. She remembered her father dying; she and her mother moving away, then her brothers following one by one. Coming back to reality, she wiped a tear from her eyes; there were things that were not meant to be remembered. Although moving to the city opened more doors and gave them more opportunities as a family, it was still a very hard thing to do.

Before she could fall deeper into her thoughts, there was a knock on the door. Frowning, she got up and turned the music lower before going to answer the door. She looked through the peephole and swallowed the rising anger at the man on the other side of the door. For a second she considered not answering, but then caved and opened it slowly.

"Special Agent Dinozzo," Michelle greeted him formally, not moving to let him in.

"Michelle, can I come in please?" Tony asked. Something wasn't right, he looked troubled somehow. Michelle had a good mind to say no, but she couldn't deny the feelings she had for the man in front of her. When she walked out on him, she hoped that he would follow, that he would track her down somehow, but he never came- he never came so she could explain why she had to leave. She moved out of the way and wordlessly invited him in.

"Thank you." He smiled, making her heart skip a beat. That smile melted the last bit of anger and she returned it with one of her own.

Michelle didn't know it, but Tony felt his knees go weak at the smile. He swore that his heart had stopped for a minute. He cleared his throat; it was now or never.

"We need to talk," he said softly. Michelle only nodded. They stood staring at each other, drinking in the sight. Michelle made the first move.

"Want some coffee?" she asked tentatively, moving to the kitchen.

"Yes, please." Tony followed her. "Nice place, a little small, but nice and cosy."

"Thank you, it's big enough for me," she said with a small smile, "besides, if it was any bigger I'd be missing my family more." _Why did I just say that? _Michelle thought to herself angrily.

"I can imagine. I didn't have a big family, though. I had a dad that wasn't always there and a bunch of nannies, but not a big family." Tony saw a flicker of sadness in her eyes.

"I had a big family; we lived on a small town in the heart of South Africa. One day, a jackass made my father an offer, my father refused. Nothing happened at first and we thought that was the end of it." She fell quiet for a minute, Tony waited patiently for her to go on.

"I don't know why I'm telling you all this," Michelle chuckled wryly, "I guess it's time I got it all out."

"It wasn't the end of it, was it?" Tony prodded softly. She smiled that sad smile again.

"No, it wasn't. He came again with the same offer and again my father refused. Another few days had past when a group of them came along. We were sitting on the front lawn eating watermelon, it was summer. They tied us up and made us watch while they beat my father." Michelle stopped unable to continue. Tony got up and pulled her into a hug. She melted into his arms.

"What happened to your father?" Tony asked after a while.

"He survived," Michelle answered softly, "but when Pieter Duvenage came to collect again, and my father refused again- he killed him."

"Wait," Tony looked down at the woman in his arms, "Pieter Duvenage? The man who hired that other guy? The man who tried to kill Gibbs and Vance?" Michelle sighed and nodded.

"I recognised the name, but before I could tell you about it, we had that little tiff in front of the elevator and I guess…" Tony put his finger on her mouth.

"Shh, it's ok. I know now. Problem is that Duvenaghe guy is back and he tried to….." He stopped when he saw Michelle trying to hide a laugh, "What?"

"It's not a soft 'g' – it's hard, like you're clearing your throat." He smiled down at her.

"OK, that dude," Tony went on, earning another giggle from Michelle, "is back and he tried to kill Gibbs this morning again." Michelle sobered up immediately and looked at Tony with concern in her eyes.

"Is he alright?" she asked, noticing a look of anger in his eyes.

"A little worse for wear, but he will be fine." Tony moved away from Michelle and walked into the living room, the coffee forgotten.

"You care about him," Michelle said and Tony nodded.

"He's like a father to me. He taught me more than my own father did, and if I could choose anyone I want to be when I'm older – it's Gibbs," Tony spoke honestly.

"Then we need to stop this fucker before he takes the same thing from you that he took from me." Michelle reached for her coat and purse and shoved Tony out the door.

"We?" he asked sceptically.

"Yeah, you need someone who knows him and can speak Afrikaans and I can help, so let's go." Michelle answered with a smile and Tony nodded.

"Ok, then." Tony said, leading the way to the car.

NCIS

Gibbs was sitting behind his desk waiting for Ducky. He was going home. The car crash this morning hurt him more than he admitted, but knowing Ducky he probably knew. As he waited, his eyes drifted over the empty desks of his agents. Tony went to the Afrikaans girl's house (he couldn't remember her name) and Ziva and McGee were following a lead. Abby was helping Ducky collect some things before they both came to take him home. Gibbs was too tired to argue. His mind drifted to the conversation in MTAC earlier that day.

_***Flashback***_

"_I don't know who this guy is, but I think I knew his son," Vance had said, shocking everyone in the room. Jarvis had asked everyone to be quiet and just listen when he told Vance to explain about the Thor project and how it was linked to what happened to them._

"_The Thor project was a research project. We trained young people from all over the world to become researchers. They would go in, apply for jobs at suspected criminal businesses and then collect intel. One of the men was an eighteen year old boy from South Africa. His name was Bertus. I never knew his surname. He got into this business and got caught. I thought he was dead and I ran to protect his partner, Louis. I only found out a year later that Bertus was still alive and was tortured to death for over a month. The project was shut down and the information about it is now only accessible with a code. This code is known only to me, Secnav, the chief of staff and the President."_

"_If this guy were to get the code- he would get the details of the project and we could lose valuable people. Some of the trainees from the project are still in operation and some are in very compromising positions – if they get caught, they will be killed."_

_Now it made sense and everyone nodded. They understood why Vance didn't want to say anything earlier and why he still blamed himself for that young man's death. Duvenage knew Vance because he had flown all the way to South Africa to speak to his mother. One more thing needed to be cleared up though,_

"_Leon, you need to stop blaming yourself." Gibbs voice was soft, the anger from earlier completely gone, "not just for what happened to that boy, but also for what happened to me. No matter what you did, you couldn't have prevented this."_

"_I know, Gibbs, I know."_

"_So, how do we put an end to this asshole?" Jarvis asked._

"_Michelle," Tony said and explained who she was and how he thought she could help. After getting permission, everyone went about their business and Gibbs went to lie down on Abby's futon, back in her lab. After a while Ducky came in to say he was taking him home and so he made his way over to go check up on his team._

_***Flashback***_

Ducky's Scottish voice calling his name pulled him back to the present and he made to get up. His phone rang, stopping him in his tracks.

"Gibbs," he answered as usual.

"I know you want to go home, but I need to speak to you urgently. Come alone," Vance said in a clipped tone. The phone went dead and Gibbs stared at the phone in his hand.

"Vance wants to see me alone. Think something is wrong though." Gibbs turned to Abby.

"Jethro, I will help you up the stairs and to the director's office, then come back to wait for you here," Ducky interrupted.

"That's fine, Duck. Abs, I need you to call Tony and the rest of the team. Tell them to come back, and quick. I think we have guests." Abby gasped and went pale.

"You really think it's a good idea to go in there, Jethro?" Ducky asked sceptically.

"If I don't they will kill Vance; can't take the risk." Without saying another word he leaned over to give Abby a kiss on her cheek and Ducky helped him up the stairs, while Abby grabbed his desk phone to call the team.

It was a slow, painful journey, but eventually they got to the door. Ducky was about to turn around to leave when the door opened and the two friends found themselves staring into the barrel of a gun.

"Why, Gibbs, you brought a friend. How nice of you! Now get inside before I start shooting you all," a cold voice said from within.

**Before I go, there is really a great South African singer by the name of Juanita du Plessis – you can find her on Google. Michelle is loosely based on my cousin (she wanted Tony for Christmas and since I don't own them, this was the best I could do) and Michelle's family is my own. I love bringing my family into my fics if I can; it's my way of honouring them. Thanks for reading, till next time, CSIflea.**


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